Hidden Destiny
by Rising Fenix
Summary: Crossover between Babylon 5 and Freespace 2. A GTVA explorer ship discovers a jump node that leads into the other side of the Galaxy and right into middle of the EarthMinbari war. First Story.
1. Default Chapter

**Disclaimer:**

I do not own Freespace 2 or Babylon 5. The rights to use their characters, concepts, plots etc. belongs to Volition, Interplay, Parallax Online, and Warner Bros. Studios. This story has not been authorized by any of them. If any, or all, request that it is removed from the Internet, I shall do so.

_A little background info:_

In the Freespace universe this happens 12 years after the end of the second shivan invasion. The subspace portal in Delta Serpentis has been constructed and Earth rejoined the Alliance. In The Babylon 5 universe this takes place in the Earth/Minbari war, about 6 months before the battle of the Line.

* * *

**Galactic Terran Installation Troy  
Sol System**

The room was large and dark, the only source of light coming from a large Holo projector in the centre of the room, surrounding this was a large table with several people sitting around, the table itself had little on it besides a few refreshments which had yet to be touched and a small computer which was installed directly on the table and allowed anyone that attended these meetings to access relevant information.

Present in this meeting was Admiral Steve Mallory an average man with black hair and piercing blue eyes and commander of the GTVA 15th Terran Fleet, the captains of various ships were also present, they were staring intently at the battle being played on the hologram, it showed two fleets fighting against each other, one was almost entirely composed of large blue fish shaped ships firing an constant barrage of green beams, the other a mixture of dark and Grey ships of utilitarian design that even if outnumbered and outgunned kept firing wildly in an attempt to hit their enemies but either their targeting was bad or there was something else disrupting it, as it was most of the shots missed and the blue ships pushed trough destroying anyone that attempted to stop them, even escape pods were target and annihilated, a few of the Gray ships lucky enough to reach point blank range turned and attempted to ram the nearest enemy ship destroying both in the process but still it wasn't enough to turn the tide of the battle.

The image moved from the slaughter to show one small station, part of it spinning and a number of small craft exiting its hangar to dock with the nearby ships.

Admiral Steve chose this time to make a small comment.

"This is as far as we can gather a civilian station; those ships are presumably carrying civilians."

None responded, but they all understood what it meant, they watched the station, a few looked down at the small screen in front of them and took notes on their respective data pads for future reference.

Suddenly a single green beam slashed past the station barely missing one of the shuttles, the two warships guarding the station responded by firing their weapons and moving to intercept something off screen, at that moment one of the ships was hit by a beam, it struck the ship and a split second later came out the other side, the ship began to drift has it was hit again and again until it exploded. Seconds later its sister ship suffered the same fate.

What happened next horrified all in the room, coming into view, the blue ship responsible for the destruction of the two defending ships now fired on the defenceless ships and station, ignoring all attempts by their victims to establish contact and probably their pleas of mercy, still they didn't stop until all were destroyed.

The view now zoomed out showing the area of the engagement, now all that existed were the Blue ships which were now dispersing, and a large field of ship debris, the only remnants of the battle.

A few seconds later most of the remaining ships opened some type of portal and left.

The Hologram faded away and the lights came backup to normal levels.

Everyone stayed quiet without saying a word, most were simply shocked at the sheer ruthlessness of the aliens, leaving none alive, even civilians were killed. Not even during height of the fourteen years of war against the Vasudans, massacres like this came to be, although it could be said that in both wars against the Shivans, worse has happened, but that was both an entirely different matter and an entirely different species.

Admiral Steve spoke again

"This was recorded by the GTE Galleon, while exploring a newly discovered system, its captain decided to keep out of the fight. As we saw there is a full scale war between two alien races just one jump away from Rigel and two jumps from Haven. Now this is known to the GTVA council for some time and after several meetings it was decided that the 15th Terran Fleet and a Vasudan Task Force will enter this system and try to establish contact with both races. Our main priority is to secure the safety of our people, only when this is assured will we try to intervene. We are to depart in 18 standard hours, all available data has been transmitted to your ships. Dismissed."

* * *

**Two Weeks later  
Galactic Terran Corvette Justice  
Rigel Star System**

Captain Matthew Hecker looked out the view screen of his ship the GTCv Justice, a newly built and upgraded Deimos class Corvette, and into space. There he saw the busy station that serves as a customs point for this sector of the system and the nearby planet. Numerous freighters, transports and various other ships dotted this area going about their business; groups of fighters could also be seen patrolling around the station.

In addition to the fighters, two cruisers were also present, this and the fighters were more than enough to thwart any pirate attack so he asked himself why did Command order him to patrol this area, in fact why did they send the entire fleet, it isn't as if the this system had any major problems with pirates and it isn't terribly important since it was explored and colonised only three years ago. A single lightly populated world and a few mining industries was all there was in this system.

Suddenly one of officers on the bridge brought him out his thoughts

"Sir, subspace sensors detect ships approaching our location!"

"Size and composition?" He asked calmly.

The officer spared a moment to look at his station before responding

"Currently there are four ships, one Hecate class destroyer, the GTD Monolith, and three Cruiser sized ships. They should arrive in approximately three minutes."

"Thank you lieutenant."

Matthew continued to look at the stars, patiently waiting for the ships to arrive and, exactly three minutes later, four subspace portals opened 300 kilometres from the station.

Instead of relying on the flat view screen, Captain Matthew turned to the tactical Holo projector where he could see with better detail the arriving ships. As expected, four ships came through, two Leviathan cruisers, one Faustus science cruiser and one Hecate destroyer the largest ship in the newly arrived group, it easily dwarfed the escorting cruisers. The computer immediately identified the ships and in the Holo projection, were one could see their designations and other useful information.

He opened his mouth but, before he could say anything, he was interrupted by an officer, the one in charge of the communications

"Sir, we are receiving a transmission from the Monolith."

He straitened his uniform "Alright put it on the view screen."

The view screen changed from the image of the newly arrived ships to that of Jennifer Garnier, the captain of the Monolith. She proceeded to waste no time and spoke

"Captain Matthew, we have new orders for you. Your ship is to proceed to the coordinates we are sending you and, additionally, data regarding the fleet's next missions are also being sent to your personal computer, you are ordered to do not divulge this information until further orders. Monolith out."

With that the image of the destroyer commander was replaced with the star field.

'_Well, now that was friendly._' Matthew thought.

Turning to the officer in charge of navigation he asked "Have you received the designated coordinates?"

"Yes sir. Course is already plotted, just awaiting your order."

"Do it, I will be in my quarters, notify me when we are about to arrive." With that he left the bridge.

* * *

**Earth Alliance Ship Athena  
****Delphi Star System**

Captain Alicia Ralston sat on her command chair, thinking about this newest mission, which she knew it was suicide and serving as bait for a Minbari task force these days was the fastest way to be killed, but if the rest of the fleet could evacuate the remaining civilians for Delphi Prime and nearby stations, then their sacrifice would not be in vain.

She couldn't help but chuckle at the word sacrifice, already too many sacrifices were made and the gains too few, thousands upon thousands of man and women have thrown themselves into the guns of the Minbari fleet trying to delay their advance, trying and failing.

But the Minbari do not stop there, they will not be satisfied with the total destruction of the Earth Force. No, they would not stop until the entire Human Race was annihilated of the face of the Galaxy.

Memories of worlds already bombarded by the Minbari fleet came to her mind, especially her own world, Wolf 128 one of the most recent systems to be taken by the Minbari and bombed into a lifeless rock as a revenge for the loss of several war cruisers. Thoughts of her family and those of her lifelong friends betrayed her, all because those damn boneheads. Without knowing she punched one of the arms of the chair gaining the attention of several crewmembers, but none of then said anything, limiting themselves to shake their heads and concentrating in doing their part on this mission.

Alicia also shook her head '_Damn it, get a grip and focus at the job at hand_.'

"Have the Minbari appeared yet?" she suddenly asked

The object of her question, the sensors operator was startled at her sudden question and took a few moments before answering

"No sir, no trace of enemies ships in our sensor range, the other ships are also reporting zero con...wait detecting a jump point 7000 kilometres from the fleets portside, identification is uncertain." A small tinge of fear creeping into the operator's voice, uncertain usually meant Minbari.

"Alright, everybody stay calm it is just a scout, it has no chance against our fleet." She said calmly

"Coordinate our weapons fire with other ships for maximum effectiveness." Her reassuring tone and authoritive voice kept the crew from panicking, although to tell the truth herself was scared of the impeding battle and its already forgone conclusion but that part of her was surpassed by her anger towards the enemy, she was certain the she would die, if not today then tomorrow, if not the tomorrow then the day after, it didn't matter to her, the only thing she wanted now was to take with her as many Minbari as she could, and this battle could very well provide her with just that. Her lips curled up into a wicked smile.

'_Let them come, we still have a few surprises of our own._'

As the Human fleet prepared for the upcoming battle, a single space fighter was observing the preparations with interest. This fighter was called the Pegasus stealth fighter by its makers and was different from the ones present in this war, its hull was dark and shaped like a tip of an arrow and almost as thin as one, it also had symmetrical blue lines across it which pulsated with a faint glow, currently the engines were dark, meaning that the pilot wanted to go unnoticed and in the meantime the fighter sensors were recording every thing that happened. They recorded even when a few minutes after the single blue ship, which was now identified as a Minbari Sharlin war cruiser, entered the area several of the unknown portals opened in the mist of the assembled fleet and out from each came several of the Sharlin war cruisers and, as expected, opened fire, with their multitude of deadly beams gutting the nearest ships, however, as soon as the initial shock passed, the defending ships laid down a murderous hail of fire that even if with the targeting sensors disrupted, were close enough to use visual scanners and hit their targets. The result showed when first one, then a second blue ship, exploded and a third one began to retreat, its hull breached in several places.

Gary Mercer look down at his sensor screen and after a brief count shook his head. The battle was going badly for the defending ships, in all the battles he's seen the Minbari only lost a half a dozen ships at worst, while the other race lost far more ships, up to several dozen in each engagement and no to mention that the fighter losses were horrendous.

His musings were interrupted by a large newly arrived group of Minbari ships that exited from several portals close to his position; they were angling for the fleet working for a flaking attack. However this was not of any concern for him at this moment, his orders were only to observe and record everything and avoid any encounters, then, working the controls, he activated his engines and manoeuvred the Pegasus fighter to a more safe location while keeping an eye out for any approaching ships, the stealth fighters sensor jammer could evade almost all GTVA sensors and until now it was being effective against Minbari sensors but Gary was known for working on the safe side, better not take risks. While the fighter moved to its new position and could not be detected in any of the sensors, there was one thing that the pilot didn't counted on or never thought is was possible, it was the power of the mind.

The bridge aboard the War Cruiser Dark Fury was calm, crewmembers moved and worked with the professionalism and confidence the their victory was inevitable, Vadronn Neris the commander of the Dark Fury looked at the projection where the earther fleet was already deep in battle with first elements of the war group, an explosion occurred small in the projection and his face turned to one of anger, the ship that exploded was a Minbari one.

He didn't believed when the first group requested reinforcements so soon but now, seeing how the battle was progressing, he understood why. The Humans were fighting much harder than in the previous battles, he saw one Sharlin listing to port, its hull breached in several places, he felt a brief feeling of respect but it was quickly dispersed when he remembered that these were the ones that killed Dukat, the most loved and respected Minbari, and destroyed the Drala'fi, the flagship of the warrior caste, in both times using deception, they deserve no respect, only death, the universe needs to be cleansed of this abomination, and the Minbari will be the instrument of that cleasing.

"Alyt Vadronn?" A voice called to him

Looking in the direction were the voice came he found Telen, a religious caste telepath with a very serious face, Vadroon became annoyed, he had no time for the likes of him, this was a warrior caste ship, not a ship run be the priest and acolytes of the religious caste were everyone had their own opinion on the matter, in here the captain's will, his will, is supreme and it must be obeyed. However, Telen was appointed to this ship by the Gray Council as an advisor and so he must endure his so called advices.

With a sigh he turned to the still awaiting telepath and spoke.

"Yes, Telen what is it? Can't you see that we are about to enter a battle!" The distaste in the warrior's voice was almost palpable.

"I know Alyt, but this is important..."

"Then what is it?" Vadronn snapped, he was beginning to lose his patience

Telen's response was not in words; instead he walked to one available computer console and started to work on it. Vadronn said nothing was he waited for the advisor to finish.

When he was done, an area of the tactical projector was highlighted.

"I've sensed a mind in that area," Telen said while pointing a finger at the display "it was human and yet," He paused for a moment "it felt different somehow. Nevertheless I checked before coming here, our sensors failed to locate it and given that fact that it is a single mind it must be some type of star fighter. I advise that we scout this area so that this human and his ship could be located."

"Are you sure about this? The humans have nothing that can elude our sensors; in fact no younger race has the technology to do it!"

Telen nodded "That's exactly why we must capture him and his ship. And you will follow these commands as it was ordered by the Gray council itself." Telen said as a matter of fact.

Vadronn fumed, his face turning red with anger. But the will of the Gray council must be obeyed. With is anger barely in check he responded

"Alright, I will agree to check the area but only with a single flight of fighters, the remaining ships will proceed to the earther fleet."

Telen was about to speak but Vadronn held out a hand "If it is a single fighter like you propose then it won't go anywhere, nothing that small can open a jump point and, when the human fleet is destroyed, we can capture him at our leisure." Vadronn concluded not knowing that he was only half right.

Telen said nothing against this, it was all he needed to make sure if what he'd been told was true, and if it was then, the survival of the Minbari race was at risk.

* * *

Captain Alicia shouted at one of her officer at bridge that by now had started to fill with smoke. "Damage report?"

The lieutenant didn't respond. Alicia tried to see why and, after the smoke cleared for a moment, she saw he was dead, a support beam had became lose and struck in the back crushing him against his computer. After saying a silent and brief prayer she turned to another officer.

"What is our status?"

The officer touched a few buttons but didn't looked up from his screen "That last hit damaged the number five engine and plasma cannons three and four are offline, the fleet lost 38 cruisers and 6 dreadnaughts, 27 ships have various degrees of damage, starfury squadrons have suffered 60% casualties."

"And the Minbari?" She asked, but was sure she wouldn't like the answer

"They Lost 11 cruisers, 3 frigates, and an unknown number of fighters."

She slumped in her chair '_Only 14 warships...And another fleet is approaching our right flank...'_

"Captain" The officer that gave her the report called "We are receiving a transmission from the Admiral, a full retreat as been issued and drones are to be deployed, we have now 12 minutes to escape the immediate area."

At this, Alicia seemed to smile a little _'Now's the time to make the Minbari pay, for all the lives lost today and in this damned war.'_

"Helm, turn the ship around and head for waypoint Alpha, as soon as we reach it, wait for the order to activate the jump engines."

The helmsman sighed ever so imperceptibly, as he brought the large Hyperion Heavy cruiser around with as much speed he could muster from its damaged frame, happy for leaving this horrible place in one piece.

Feeling the acceleration of the ship he spoke to the man in charge of the weapons systems "Have all of our drones deployed safely?"

"Yes sir, two were destroyed in the cross fire but the remainder reached their targets and are waiting activation. The other ships also report that most drones have deployed safely."

"And the Minbari?"

"As predicted they are chasing us. They are also ignoring the damaged and disabled ships that are unable to fire back, most likely they intend to come back and finish them as soon has they deal with us."

"Let them go after those ships, they will find the surprise of their lives." A evil smile found its way into her face "Too bad they won't live long enough to enjoy it."

* * *

Onboard the Pegasus fighter, Gary was beginning to be worried, not with the battle that in a few minutes would be over anyway, but with a small group of Minbari fighters that have left their main group, and were now on a direct approach towards him. Looking at his screen yet again, he saw no sign of being detected, but he couldn't shake the feeling that he was being watched. Still, he had a mission to do and won't leave until his superior, which is the commanding officer at the GTD Chimera, gives him orders to do so, what's left is to try and avoid the fighters.

He made several manoeuvres and changed course several times. Still, the fighters came to him, coming ever closer. This time he decided to call the Chimera. Activating his communications system, he set up an encoded subspace channel, even though none of the alien races seem to have subspace technology, it was standard procedure for Pegasus pilots.

"GTD Chimera, this is Beta 1. I have possible detection by a wing of Minbari fighters, I repeat possible detection by Minbari fighters. What are your orders?"

"Beta 1, this is the Chimera, Central Command has been appraised of the situation, and new orders have come through." The pilot could hear the person on the other side take a deep breath. He became even more nervous than before "Your current orders are to engage the Minbari fighters, but disengage if the battle becomes too hard." The pilot stared at the image of the captain of the Chimera, mouth agape.

'_What?! He's gotta be joking! This isn't a dogfighter.'_

"With all due respect, sir, this is a Pegasus stealth fighter. It isn't made for front line combat. I don't have the firepower to engage standard fighters. I don't even have decent secondary weapons, only EMP missiles. And besides we still don't know the full capabilities of those fighters. We are basically declaring war on a new species with unknown resources."

"I know that pilot, and I fully agree with you, but orders are orders and, as a pilot of the GTVA, you are to follow these orders to the best of your ability. Good luck. Chimera out."

Gary nearly punched the controls in frustration but decided not to. It wasn't worth it. Besides, it was his fault he was doing this in the first place. After all, he volunteered to do this.

The now enemy fighters were almost on top of him. With a sigh, he brought the reactor to full power and activated his single bank of Subachs. Accelerating the ship, he angled at the group of 3 Minbari fighters, noting with satisfaction that they didn't seem to have shields and, most importantly, haven't detected him yet.

Seen from the out side, the fighter seemed to come to life as it went into full combat mode. The blue lines glowed brightly at the same time its engines pushed the fighter closer to its targets; they were already inside weapons range, but the pilot wanted to take a decisive first strike, pushing to the limits its stealth advantage, striking hard and fast, not allowing them to realise what was happening. As the targeting computers locked on the lead fighter, Gary Mercer never realised that his next action would change the GTVA in a way he could have never imagined.

He pressed the trigger...


	2. Chapter 2

**Authors Notes:**

Well, it is finally updated. Sorry about the long delay, but real life issues, along with the fact that I had an extreme lack of inspiration, has prevented me to write as much as I like. I will try to put out chapters faster from now on.

**Genesis**: Freespace 2 is a space-sim game made by Volition. In my opinion, it is the king of space Sims. :)

**Rogue1615**: Perhaps. But the damage has already been done. In regards to the capabilities of FS2 ships, let's just say that the Minbari and anybody else on the B5 universe will find Terran and Vasudan ships very hard to beat. ;)

**Oxtorner Monkey**: GTVA stands for Galactic Terran-Vasudan Alliance.

**a fan**: No :)

**King Henry the V**: Thank you for your review, it came in very handy. I will correct the first chapter when I have time.

**JonnyG**: The Vorlons don't usually interfere in the affairs of the younger races, but the Freespace Terrans and Vasudans aren't your average younger race :) Let's just say that the Vorlons won't like the GTVA very much. ;)

**All the other reviewers**: Thanks for all your reviews. I really appreciate it

* * *

**Minbari War Cruiser Dark Fury  
Delphi Star System**

"The Human fleet is retreating, they are leaving their most damaged ships behind." The warrior in charge of the sensors stated, the distaste for their adversaries was clear in his voice.

Vadroon said nothing, and continued to watch the retreating human fleet, trying to keep the debris field, which was composed for the most part from their own ships, between them and the Minbari war group, his fleet. It was strange, though, they usually didn't run from a battle, since their ships were too slow compared to Minbari cruisers, and were, eventually, caught and destroyed. Perhaps they were counting on the debris field slowing the war cruisers down, although that would only delay the inevitable for a few minutes.

Still it didn't matter, the Humans would die, and their cowardice would be a testimony of how weak and primitive they are, and a perfect example of what happens to those who challenge the Minbari.

"Send a message to all ships, order them to accelerate past the field, and destroy any wreckage that comes too near."

"Alyt" one crewman interrupted "there are a large number of crippled Earther ships and fighters. What should be done about them?"

"Ignore them for now, the fleet is our main concern." Vadronn responded coolly.

As the Minbari warrior carried out his commands, Vadronn walked over to where the Religious Caste Telepath Telen was, working on a computer console.

"So, have you managed to capture the Human's mysterious fighter yet?" The mocking tone of his voice was clear.

Telen shot him an angry look, but it quickly subsided "I'm directing the pilots, but they still haven't established a visual or sensor lock."

Vadronn crossed his arms, an amused expression on his face, as he watched the Telepath manipulate the controls and order the pilots to new coordinates.

"I am sure there is something there, it might not be human, but it is, definitely, very similar!" Then after a somewhat brief pause "And no, my mind is not lost to me." Telen ended with a smirk in his face, before turning to the computer console, and continuing to direct the pilots.

If that remark affected him in any way, Vadronn didn't seem angry, instead he allowed himself to ignore the Telepath, and keep his focus at the matter at hand, namely the destruction of the Human fleet.

Though, deep in his mind, he swore he one day will make Telen pay for all the humiliations he made him go trough since coming aboard.

* * *

Far from the main area of engagement, three disgruntled Minbari pilots were, for the lack of a better explanation, running around in circles. Tasked with the tracking and capture of one supposed unknown fighter that was on this area, they were angry at not being with their fellow warriors.

Destroying the human fleet was, at least, a small challenge, very small since one Minbari fighter was more than a match for an entire squadron of Earth Fighters, but it was still better than this. The worst of all however, is that they were being ordered by a member of the religious caste.

"New orders." the Wing leader said. His voice filtering out of the other fighters audio systems and breaking the awkward silence between the tree pilots. "Increase power to your stealth field and prepare for combat. It seems that our prey is real and decided to show itself."

"Finally! Let's get this over with and return to battle." One of the pilots said. They were eager to return to the fleet.

"Do not worry about this battle. I, as the two of you, desire nothing else than avenge the death of Dukat, and every warrior killed at the filthy hands of the humans, but this war will still last for at least half a cycle, and there are still quite a few humans ships left." The wing leader concluded with a sneer.

The other two pilots chuckled in agreement, but it quickly turned to shock, as the wing leader's fighter exploded. Their eyes widened as an unknown fighter, its dark hull contrasting with the blue Minbari fighters, passed trough the remains, its engines sending small debris in every direction. The Minbari pilots were stunned, but it quickly turned to rage, as they brought their own fighters around, and started to pursue the unknown fighter, firing their weapons. Neutron beams slashed trough space, but their destructive energies were wasted as all shots missed by a wide margin.

"I can see it but the computer is unable to target it!" One of them said. Both were very surprised at the fact that their enemy had the technology to avoid their sensors.

"This cannot be a human fighter!" The other exclaimed as he sent another burst from his Nial fighter three neutron cannons, and yet again missing their target. "It is too fast and manoeuvrable."

Suddenly, faster than any Earth fighter, and for both Minbari to react, their quarry, with a burst of power from its engines, and using the superior manoeuvrability, turned the fighter around, and unleashed a full volley from its weapons. The purple energy blasts hit one of the Nials, destroying the gravitic engines, one of the wings, and sending it tumbling through space, its pilot dead from the impact. The remaining Minbari fighter fired wildly, blanketing the area in hope that a few of the shots would connect with the enemy ship. He was rewarded when several of the beams managed to connect with the hull, or so he thought, because, instead of the target exploding, a blue barrier flashed into view, preventing the energies of the neutron cannons from hitting the hull. It disappeared when the beams stopped.

The Minbari was shocked at seeing the unknown fighter withstanding an attack that would reduce any earth fighter into its component atoms. It was also the last thing he saw before his fighter crumpled around him.

---

Gary Mercer closed his fist in satisfaction, as he saw the last Minbari fighter exploding. He was quite relieved, that last volley damaged his starboard shields, they held, but with a moderate power loss. Fortunately, for him, that the stealth ability of the Pegasus was effective against Minbari sensors, otherwise this fight could have ended differently. Still, he couldn't help thinking how easy it was, if this is the best these Minbari could do, then they weren't such a high threat as it was first thought, but, that is for the Admirals to decide, and the data recorded from the battle with the Minbari fighter wing would prove useful.

Now, applying the maximum thrust that the Pegasus could manage, he distanced himself from the immediate area, while at the same time opening a communications channel to the Chimera.

"GTD Chimera, this is Beta 1. Minbari Fighters destroyed. Minimal damage. What are your next orders?"

The voice of the captain of the Chimera came trough "Excellent work Beta 1. How could those fighters known where you were?"

"I don't know sir. My computer gave no sign of being detected, and flight logs can confirm this."

"Understood. We will deal with this as soon as you return. You are now authorized to return to Base."

"Yes sir." Gary said, happy that he was finally returning "Activating jump drive now."

A second later a subspace hole, different from the jump points used by all races in this are of the galaxy, opened in front of the fighter, its blue and white colour contrasting with the blackness of space. The Terran fighter entered the portal, and disappeared, leaving behind the remains of three Minbari fighters.

---

**Earth Alliance Ship Achilles  
Delphi Star System**

Admiral Nolan watched as the Minbari war cruisers were quickly gaining ground with the fleeing Earth Force fleet. Already, the nearest war cruisers were firing long range shots, while the rearmost EA ships returned fire immediately, but, unfortunately, none of the shots connected, the Minbari stealth being true to its name. He continued to watch the exchange, until a Hyperion heavy cruiser was literally cut in half by a Minbari fusion beam.

"Tell all ships to put more power to their engines even if they have to take them past the limit." He told his second in command.

The losses were staggering, nearly half the fleet was destroyed and the rest has various stages of damage.

Since the standard battle plan of taking the Minbari head on didn't work, he seriously doubted it would since the beginning, he had to resort to his backup plan, to lure the Minbari Fleet into a trap.

Steve Nolan, taking the ambush and destruction of the Black Star as a benchmark, prepared a desperate plan, and now was the time to put it into action.

"Lieutenant Johnston, send a coded message to captain Danith, tell him to prepare his drones for activation. Send him the coordinates of the Minbari fleet and make it as accurate as possible, we only have one shot at this."

"After the message is sent order all ships to enter hyperspace on my command. The destination is Delphi prime. Now activate our drones!"

"Yes sir." Johnston replied.

---

In hyperspace, a small group of six capital ships were waiting for the signal to go into action. These vessels were Earth Force ships, and consisted of four of the last Avenger class carriers still in active duty, and two Olympus class corvettes, the latter serving as a token escort. They were all powered down to avoid detection by any Sharlin war cruiser that ventured into hyperspace, but it seems that luck was on their side, for once.

Captain Justin Danith sat on his command chair, staring at the screen and into hyperspace, when the message from the admiral came. The once dark and silent bridge became bright and full of activity.

"Open a channel to all carriers." Danith ordered the communications officer.

"Done sir."

"All carriers, deploy the Divine wind units, manoeuvre to the designated coordinates, and prepare jump engines for activation."

Outside, the Avenger class ships opened their fighter bays; each carrier released nearly one hundred modified starfurys.

Usually, an Avenger carrier only carried forty eight fighters, but, by removing all weapons and most crew quarters, they could fit almost a hundred fighters, although it made the ships even slower and lesser mobile than before.

The fighters quickly positioned themselves in front of the carriers, waiting for the signal for activation.

---

While the Minbari fleet was quickly approaching the Earth Force fleet, firing their deadly fusion and neutron beams, behind them several dozen drones, which were laying powered down amongst the wreckage of earth warships, activated and accelerated as fast as they could. They set course to the expected location of the unprotected rear of the war cruisers.

These drones were modified Earth Force fighters, but each carried one thermonuclear warhead, similar to those that destroyed the Black Star, but significantly more powerful. They were programmed to go to the suspected location of the Minbari ships and detonate.

Nolan knew that a direct hit was impossible, so a proximity detonator was included in the design. Overall, a single drone doesn't have the power to destroy a Sharlin war cruiser on its own, but, in numbers, they could be effective, and, like it was expected, all the Minbari Nial fighters were moving ahead of the cruisers, intent on attacking the Earth Force fleet, and too far away to intercept the drones, therefore increasing the drone fighter's chances of success. This was, however, just the first phase of the plan.

Nolan watched as the drones quickly reached their designated area, not having a pilot inside greatly increased their acceleration, since they don't have to limit themselves to human tolerances.

A few of the drones were destroyed by the point defence weapons of the Minbari cruisers, clearly the Minbari commander didn't considered the drone fighters a threat. When they reached their designated coordinates, the fighters detonated one after another, and caught the Minbari fleet by surprise. He saw one war cruiser, then another, falling from the formation, trailing debris and atmosphere, a testament to the power of the bombs. He started to smile, the first time in many months, but he soon regret it, as the point defence systems of the war cruisers came to full power, and started to fire on the suicide drones. He frowned when he saw a group of drones being destroyed while trying to reach optimal detonation range. Already the Minbari fighters were turning back, in order to assist their mother ships.

"Increase their evasive manoeuvres and thrust to the maximum! If the fighters get there, all this planning will be for nothing! Send the confirmation to Danith!"

He turned back to the screen and continued to watch the drones, since seeing the Sharlins war cruisers was impossible, but the results were there for all to see. Sharlin war cruisers, one of not the most powerful class ships in know space, were being torn apart by the shock waves and explosion of the thermonuclear bombs, their tough armour and hull shattered like glass under the impacts. Some simply ceased to exist, as several of the explosions engulfed them.

"Sir, nearly all the drones are gone. The fighters have arrived, and are attacking them."

Admiral Nolan smiled, even as he watched the drones being destroyed, one by one, by the deadly fire defensive fire of the Minbari ships, or by the skilful Minbari pilots.

He smiled, because he knew what was still to come.

Four jump points opened near the Minbari fleet, and from them came out, not a group of star ships, but a horde of fighters. The carriers stayed in hyperspace, and merely used their jump engines to allow the drone fighters to go into real space. It was not as near as he wanted though, but still close enough.

"_Now the Minbari will pay."_

"Have the ones closer to the war cruisers to detonate, that will destroy enough Minbari fighters, and make a large hole in their lines, then make the rest fly trough that hole! Supply new coordinates and make as accurate as possible, have them try to reach the war cruisers or as near as they can, and detonate."

"Sir, at that close range the drones will possibly also destroy each other."

"I'm aware of that lieutenant. I'm also aware that if something isn't done, then they will all be destroyed, and we will follow next. At least, this way, some of them will manage to damage or destroy more war cruisers. At the very least, it will stall them enough time to evacuate Delphi prime."

The lieutenant nodded, returning to his post with renewed resolve. The rest of the bridge crew soon followed. They were all united with one purpose, to make the Minbari pay for every inch of space. There was little chance of stopping the Minbari, but at least, this way, the humans will be remembered as the race that resisted the Minbari power for three years, and, if fate would have it, some will survive to settle elsewhere, and ensure that the Human race will continue.

The Admiral looked around the bridge, he was proud of his crew, their determination to do their best against the Minbari, and their will to fight till their dying breath. They and the rest of earth force were the sole hope of all the people back on Earth and the colonies, for, if they fall, Earth would soon follow.

The Minbari fleet was in disarray. The usual formation of keeping their ships so close to each other which was excellent at fighting fleet battles at long range, worked against them here.

The kamikaze fighters were relentless, they picked their targets and engaged, oblivious to destruction or fear. One war cruiser suffered a direct attack; it fell out of formation and right into another one, taking both down in a fiery explosion and sending debris at great speeds into the nearby ship, contributing to the wave of destruction that has fallen on the Minbari fleet.

---

"The Minbari fleet his slowing down!" One of the bridge officers of the EAS Achilles said with excitement "I can actually lock weapons and sensors on the many war cruisers now. Their stealth fields must be damaged!"

Admiral Nolan stared at the view screen which, by now, was focused on the war cruisers. For a moment, he felt tempted to order a charge against the Minbari fleet, but that notion was quickly gone from his mind. Even without their stealth, the Minbari War cruisers were still vastly superior to anything that Earth force has, and a dozen or so were more than enough to completely destroy what remains of his fleet. The Minbari still had more then a dozen ships capable of battle, and with operational stealth. He quickly made his decision.

"Warn all surviving ships, the fleet is to jump to hyperspace in ten seconds. We have done what we could, let's not push our luck any further."

The crew nodded in agreement and went back to work, content at having faced the Minbari, seriously hurting, and living to tell the tale.

Shortly thereafter, the EA fleet started entering hyperspace, leaving the Minbari fleet to deal with the remaining Drones and lick their wounds.

---

**Minbari War Cruiser Dark Fury  
Delphi Star System**

Vadronn was furious, he still couldn't believe what had just happened! He had been calmly directing the fleet from the bridge of his ship, when a group of fighters were detected, coming from the remains of the destroyed earther ships. He ignored them, since they posed no threat, the defensive weapons of the war cruisers could handle them easily. This, however, proved his undoing, because, when the Earther fighters reached close range, they didn't attack, instead they detonated. It became clear for him what those fighters were doing.

The humans struck back using some type of unmanned fighters with pre-programmed suicide tactics, if it was another time he would have laughed and dismissed it as a joke, the Earthers couldn't possibly deal that much damage, but the proof was right in front of his eyes. The initial report given to him by a subordinate said that nearly half of the war group was destroyed, while the other half had various degrees' damage.

They had managed to destroy all of those suicide fighters, but, by then, the remaining ships of the Earther fleet had escaped into hyperspace, hoping they could escape righteous Minbari revenge.

This only served to further prove that the Humans were animals, cowards, primitive barbarians with no honour. However, he still had most of the responsibility, the first wave of these suicide craft had been detected but he chose to ignore them, and not take countermeasures. He would not admit it, but it was his arrogance that caused this fiasco.

Still, no matter whose fault was it, the Earthers must be punished, their fleet destroyed, and their worlds wiped clean of their presence, for each Minbari that dies, a thousand humans must be killed. Blood calls out for blood. He wouldn't allow them to escape this easily, and swore he would be there when their homeworld will be bombed into a barren wasteland.

"All capable ships, prepare to jump into hyperspace on my command, the humans must not escape!" He ordered his crew, whom, like his captain, was just as furious and eager for revenge.

But, before any confirmation was issued, so that pursuit could begin, Telen approached Vadronn "Sorry to disturb you Alyt, but I have been in communication with the Valen'Tha."

At this Vadronn stiffened. The Valen'tha was the Gray Council Ship.

"We have been ordered to regroup at the system which the Earthers call Beta Durani. There, we will recover our losses, and be reinforced by forces of the Wind Swords and several other war groups. Also, repairs will proceed in that system. Further orders will be given when we arrive."

"And about the humans? You know as well as I do that this cannot go unpunished!"

Telen's face grew dark "They will be dealt with soon. Another war group has been reassigned to deal with the Earther fleet and their colony. I understand that you would like to be in charge of that war group, but we have a more important mission now."

"And that is?"

"The complete eradication of the Earther's main colony of Proxima, then we will move against the Human's home-world of Earth."

Vadronn was taken aback, something was strange about this new command from the Gray council, Vadronn thought. "I thought that we would only move against Proxima when all the remaining colonies were destroyed? That way, there is little chance of any Earther escaping."

Telen cleared his throat "I do no not know for certain, but it seems to involve another race. We will be told when we join the main fleet, but, know this, that unidentified space fighter today was almost surely from this new race." Telen then turned to leave, but was stooped by Vadronn

"What do you mean new race? You told me that it was a Human fighter!"

"I told you it seemed Human; I didn't say it was Human. I know nothing more at this time, except for the fact that they are vastly more powerful than the Earthers."

"How powerful are they?"

"That single fighter managed to destroy three Nials and then disappeared from the area, since I can't feel its mind anymore."

Vadronn was taken aback. No race could do that, except the Vorlons, but they do not involve themselves in the affairs of the younger races. That left only one choice possibility, their ancient enemy has returned.

**Galactic Terran Corvette Justice  
Rigel Star System**

Captain Matthew sat on his chair facing the screen, where his newest orders were displayed, along with additional data.

Even after reviewing the data twice, it was quite a surprise to him, the discovery of two alien races, correction, one alien race, seeing as one of them is made up of Terrans, calling themselves the Earth Alliance, while the other calls themselves the Minbari Federation. Besides a few bits of information, both are completely unknown.

It was always with great concern that the GTVA, and the GTA before it, approached new space-faring races. The disastrous first contact with the Vasudans which led to the Terran-Vasudan war, and both Shivan Invasions, made the GTVA exceptionally careful. This was different, however. The Minbari, and these unknown Terrans, were embroiled in a devastating war with each other.

Not much was available about this war at this time, except for the fact that the Minbari had vastly superior technology than the new Terrans, and it has was shown by the few recording of battles, they are determined to exterminate the Earth Alliance. Intercepted transmissions, with reports of bombarded worlds, were common. As to why the Minbari would resort to this, he could only guess.

Nevertheless, the main concern of the GTVA was the security of its people. To this end, the 15th Terran fleet led by the GTD Warlord, and the 8th Vasudan battle group led by the GVD Rehmet, were recalled to blockade the Jump Node, and maintain a permanent military presence in Rigel. If the Minbari, the Earth Alliance, or any other race, decided to come here uninvited, then they would run into a wall of fire.

There were, however, still many unknowns about both the Minbari and the Earth Alliance. Their size and number of systems they control, fleet size, general level of technology, what kind of government each has, why they are at war, how would they react to the presence of the GTVA, among other things, and, the main question, at least in Matthew's mind, why there were Terrans so far from Sol. There wasn't any record of Terran spacecraft, be it civilian or military, travelling to this system before it was discovered, and colonized, three years ago, and, definitely, never in the system beyond. This jump node was discovered by the GTSC Erickson, a science cruiser attached to the 3rd Terran fleet only a few weeks before, and there wasn't any previous record of its existence.

"Something is very strange about this." He muttered to himself "There must be some way this could be explained."

Just then, his communicator started beeping. He picked it up, and activated it.

"Captain, we are about to reach the destination. Will exit subspace in five minutes." The voice of his second in command was heard

"Acknowledged. I'll be right there."

Rising from the chair, he exited his quarters, and made his way to the bridge. After reaching it, he sat down on the captain's chair and waited for the Deimos Corvette to exit subspace.

He didn't have to wait long, the blue and white pulsating view of subspace parted, and the sleek ship entered real space, and, like he expected, much of the 15th Terran fleet was here, dozens of capital ships, and an even large number of fighters were spread across the immediate area, going about their missions. Vasudan warships were also seen.

In the center of all this activity, was the jump node. It was invisible to the naked eye, of course, but a green computer-generated graphic highlighted its existence. Surrounding this node was half a dozen of the new Mjolnir remote beam cannons, and numerous sentry guns.

Matthew was impressed, this was almost as much defences as a core system has. The only time he remembered seeing more ships in a single place, was in records of the second Great War against the Shivans, where most of the GTVA fleets were involved. His face saddened slightly, a fight that the GTVA lost, despite what was said, and lost badly.

He still, clearly, remembered what happened twelve years ago, as if it was yesterday. He remembered Capella, the world where he was born and raised, the courageous Terran and Vasudan pilots dieing by the dozens, trying to keep the Shivans from attacking the civilians transports while they evacuated the planets population, the alliance capital ships duelling with the powerful Shivan destroyers and cruisers.

He and his family managed to escape, but many others didn't make it, and if it weren't for the collapse of the jump nodes on Vega and Epsilon Pegasi, which the alliance managed to accomplish with the use of experimental meson bombs, then the entirety of the Terran and Vasudan race would have been exterminated. Later, he found out that the Shivan jugernaughts managed to destroy the Capella star, creating a shockwave that obliterated everything inside the system, including the Shivans own ships and the planets.

'_No. This isn't the time to think about the past!' _He reminded himself

"Captain, I am receiving a message from the Warlord. They are requesting that you meet with the Admiral on the Warlord for debriefing."

"Understood, prepare a shuttle. Tell them that I will be there shortly."

A few minutes later, Captain Hecker, along with a Vasudan, who was another star ship captain, were in the meeting room of the Warlord, standing at attention. They were waiting for Admiral Mallory, who was viewing a datapad.

A few moments later, with a frown, he put the datapad down on the desk. Looking up at the Terran and Vasudan in front of him, he spoke.

"Captain Akher and Captain Hecker, I thank you for coming so quickly, and I must apologise for making you await."

"Do not worry Admiral." The large Vasudan spoke, his translator providing the means for both Terrans to understand him. "It is always an honor serving with you."

Mallory smirked "Thank you. It is always good to see you again, old friend."

"Now, I asked both of you here because I have a mission for you."

"As both of you know, the discovery of the Earth Alliance Terrans and the Minbari Federation has turned the GTVA upside down, the council is divided as to what to do at this moment."

"On one side there are those that say that we should just blockade the jump node, and leave it at that, while others are urging for us to intervene."

"There is one thing that both sides agree, however, that we should at least try to make contact with the Minbari Federation and the Earth Alliance

Mallory shook his head. "This mission was undertaken, but the results weren't what we expected. The Scimitar, one of the ships involved in the mission, was destroyed."

Matthew was suddenly very concerned. According with reports, the Scimitar was one of the ships already on the other side of the Jump node. "How was it destroyed? Was it one of those races?"

"It was destroyed on a peaceful mission. It was tasked, along with the Vasudan cruiser Andromeda, with the first contact with the Minbari Federation and, following that, the Earth Alliance."

Admiral Mallory sighed "Unfortunately, the mission didn't even passed the first phase. The Minbari opened fire as soon as the Scimitar got in range. It was destroyed with all hands on board, and the Andromeda was heavily damaged before escaping into subspace."

Both Matthew and Akher were taken aback.

"Why would these Minbari attack a warship with peaceful intentions? Never mind the fact that nobody in their right mind would attack an enemy without first knowing its capabilities and resources." Akher inquired.

"Exactly." Mallory agreed "We are not sure at this moment, but we think it might be because the crew was Terran, they could have been mistaken by an Earth Alliance ship."

"Even if it was a mistake" Matthew interrupted "they attacked and destroyed one of our ships. If I remember correctly, a Leviathan Class cruiser has a crew of 150, my ship has a crew of 2500. Now imagine if it was my ship or another of its class in the Scimitars place. I certainly don't want the same thing happening to my crew and ship."

"I agree. That is way I called both of you here."

"Your orders, as of this moment, are to move to the other side of the Node. There, you will search for a small Minbari fleet, and initiate first contact. Captain Akher will assume full control over this operation."

Matthew spoke again "Sorry for interrupting again sir, but what will stop them from shooting at us again?"

"Nothing will stop them from shooting at you, but, should it happen, you have orders to return fire and, if necessary, destroy them." At this, both captains nodded.

"The destruction of the Scimitar, coupled with the recon of battles by Pegasus stealth fighters, and examination of recovered debris, allowed us to put up a good view of Minbari weapons technology."

He opened a drawer, pulled out two data pads, and handed one to each captain.

"There you will find all that we know about the power of their warships, but, for a general idea, let's just say that the Minbari will be quite surprised at the power of your ships." Admiral ended with a smile.

"I wish you both good luck. Dismissed."

The Captains saluted, and left the room. Both of them hoped that this first contact will go well, but, should they be fired upon, they will make sure that the Minbari understand the depth of their mistake.


	3. Chapter 3

**Authors Notes:**

**Majin83**: Yes

**Bookstick**: They aren't eager to go to war with an unknown race with unknown resources. But rest assured the Terrans and Vasudans aren't afraid of war :)

**Dragon-Raptor: **It will all be explained.

**Arachnid: **For now it is just the Minbari war, but who knows.

**Anubis: **That is certainly a possibility.

**All the other reviewers:** Thanks

**Special thanks for Cyber Undead for proof read.**

**

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**Chapter 3**

**EAS Apollo Nova-X Destroyer**

**Proxima Star System**

The EAS Apollo, a Nova-X Destroyer, emerged from hyperspace near Proxima III; it was followed shortly by three more ships, a Nova dreadnaught and two Hyperion heavy cruisers.

The four ships settled near one of the many stations in the system, waiting for resupply and repair.

General Leaftcourt, commanding officer of the Apollo and its small taskforce, passed a hand trough his greying hair, he was tired. They had been in the Jericho system helping in the evacuation of civilians and keeping them from panicking any further. A few Minbari cruisers were seen, but they didn't take any actions, seemly content at only watching from afar, and he was thankful for it. If the Minbari decided to attack, there wasn't anything he could have done to stop them, even his ship, one of the few experimental Nova-X destroyers that were still intact and incorporating the best technologies available to the Earth Alliance as well as the technology bought from the Narns, couldn't stand up to a Sharlin war cruiser.

It wasn't as if the Earth Alliance was completely unable to hurt the Minbari, far from it, the Earth weapons had sufficient power to damage or even destroy Minbari war cruisers. The main problem is those dammed stealth fields that prevent sensors and weapons systems from locking on the Minbari ships! This means that Earth ships have to approach to visual range, and in that time they are reduced to a field of debris by the longer ranged and more powerful Minbari weapons.

He sighed. All attempts at breaking the stealth had failed, as all attempts at ending this war. The Minbari completely ignored all communications from Earth ships. The other races were also unwilling to help, for fear of Minbari retribution.

It's clear for everyone that the Minbari intend to exterminate the Human race.

He looked at the viewscreen, Proxima III, the largest colony outside of the solar system. The large shipyards and research stations combined with extensive defences made it the most important and more heavily guarded system in the Earth Alliance, baring Earth itself.

This was, however, a mere inconvenience for the Minbari.

"General! Are you alright?"

The voice of Lieutenant Commander Varis brought him out of his thoughts.

"I'm fine lieutenant. I was just thinking about this war, that's all." He quickly answered

"I understand, sir." The lieutenant nodded. "The reason I interrupted you was that orders from Earth Dome have arrived. We are to leave for the Cooke system as soon as we are finished here, with us will be going a small taskforce. When we arrive, we are to assist in helping evacuate the civilians still in that system."

Leftcourt raised an eyebrow "I thought that the Cooke system had been taken by the Minbari and all humans in that system killed or evacuated!"

"Yes sir, but the Minbari retreated soon after starting bombardment of the main colony. Intelligence doesn't know why, but the EAS Ulysses was tasked with finding out the reason of their sudden retreat."

"Alright, you have permission to set course for Cooke as soon as the ship is ready."

"Yes sir."

Half an hour later, with fresh stocks of weapons, ammunitions, and supplies, the EAS Apollo and several other ships entered Hyperspace, heading in the direction of the Cooke system hyperspace beacon.

* * *

**Delphi -Contested Star System-**

The debris of destroyed ships extended for several hundred kilometres in all directions, nearly all of them remains of former Earth Force vessels, testament to the courage and stubborn nobility of the Human race, but also as a warning of what happens to anyone who challenges the Minbari.

This, however, was lost to the crews of the two GTVA ships in the area. One was an Aeolus class cruiser designated Warrior, the other was a science ship, the Gaia. Both had a wing of Myrmidon fighters flying escort, as they searched the remains of the destroyed ships hoping to retrieve examples of Earth Alliance and Minbari technology, as well as looking for survivors.

The GTVA Security Council finally ordered all ships in the system to search for survivors. They could no longer stand the slaughter of Terrans happening right on their doorstep.

Captain Kurt Vohler, the commanding officer of the GTC Warrior, listened intently to the Gaia commanding officer, Captain Erik Gadsen. They indeed found survivors and due the severe injuries that some of them had, they've been taken aboard the science cruiser to make use of its more advanced facilities.

"They are all in serious condition but with no risk of life yet, a few have already woken up. Still I recommend we transfer them to better equipped facilities." Captain Gadsen reported the condition of the survivors.

"Good, I'll notify central command for further instructions." Kurt responded "How are they reacting to this situation?"

Erik frowned "Well, they are extremely grateful that we rescued them, but they kept asking to which fleet we belong, one Lieutenant commander Mira Goodwin is especially insistent. I haven't told her anything yet, I'll leave that to the Security Council's decision."

Kurt nodded, confident that his mission was nearly finished, partly because he was tired, but there was something else, a bad felling he had ever since entering this area. "Just keep them under tight security but continue to treat them well, they have a wealth of information that we could use, both about the Earth Alliance and the Minbari."

"Understood." Captain Gadsen said, and then he noticed his friends face "Is there something bothering you?"

"As a matter of fact, yes. You see, the fact that there are survivors is strange." Kurt started "The Minbari, according with intercepted Earth Alliance transmissions, never leaves survivors. Not even sparing non-combatants." He gesture to the debris field shown on the tactical Holograph projector as a way to support his argument "The fact that there are a few is strange."

"Perhaps they didn't think it was worth it?"

Kurt snorted "I doubt it, or else there would have been more from other battles." He paused for a moment deep in thought.

Erik was about to respond but a crewmember in the Warriors Bridge spoke first.

"Sir, Sensors detect one jump portal forming in sector 5, distance 1500 kilometres." A brief pause "Three Minbari ships have entered the area, numerous fighter type vessels are escorting them. They are approaching at high speed on an intercept vector. Their weapons are charged." The crewmen reported, hint of fear creeping into his voice

"A trap. They set us up in a trap!" Kurt said loudly to no one in particular.

He quickly turned to the captain of the Gaia, his worried face mirroring his own.

"Sorry, but it seems our conversation and our mission has been cut short. Now charge up your jump engines and prepare to enter subspace, we will cover you if things get out of hand."

The Gaias commanding officer said nothing, he simply nodded and then cut the channel.

Kurt looked at the tactical projector, he could clearly see the three Minbari ships approaching, blue in color and nearly nine hundred meters in length, easily dwarfing his ship. They were covered with numerous weapons emitters, several large fins protruded from the hull, most likely projectors for their gravitic drive.

He ordered a communications channel to be opened to Terran command and to the Minbari warships, hoping they wanted to talk first and shoot later.

His hopes were shattered when the energy readings of the Minbari ships rose quickly, for a moment he could see the forward weapons emitters on the Minbari warships glow brightly, before unleashing their deadly energies.

He instinctively gripped the arm of his chair.

**

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**Galactic Terran Destroyer Chimera  
Hangar Bay**

Lieutenant Gary Mercer passed a hand trough the smooth armor of the Hercules MKII class heavy fighter, the fighter of choice for his squadron, the 35th Silver Hawks. It was one of the toughest fighters currently in service of the Galactic Terran-Vasudan Alliance. Its speed and manoeuvrability were low, but its power and toughness was only surpassed by the Ares, the Enrinyes and the Vasudan Tauret fighter.

He wasn't happy tough, the recon went worse than expected, not because of the Minbari fighters, that he could handle. It was the fact that they managed to find him when they shouldn't, as sensors logs have showed. Either Intel made a major screw up, or the Minbari possesses a sensor that could not be perceived by GTVA own sensors.

He moved the edge of the platform, from there one could see almost the entirety of the Hangar. He stood there for several moments before a hand came down on his shoulder.

"Hey, you're late!"

Gary smiled and turned around, coming face to face with a Terran with green eyes and short brown hair. Gary said nothing, instead he extended his hand. The newly arrived Terran shook it vigorously.

"Nice to see you again Gary, I was beginning to think you didn't remember me!" The Terran said.

"Bruce Holbrey" Gary said with a smirk "How could I forget the best pilot to fly in the 15th Terran fleet, and one of the best buddies I have ever had." Then he turned serious "It's good to see you again, but tell me, where the hell have you been this last year. You left the squadron without saying to where you were going."

"Yes, I know." Bruce sighed "It was unfortunate, but necessary. The squad where I'm flying now doesn't exactly likes to show itself."

Gary raised an eyebrow "What do you mean by that?"

Bruce took a deep breath and looked around to see if anybody was close enough to hear, seeing that they were safe he started "Look, you are a very good friend and I trust you implicitly, but no one else must know or we would be in very serious trouble."

"You know me. I won't tell anyone, you have my word."

Bruce sighed again before answering "I'm with the 114th Stalkers aboard the SOD Nightgaunt."

Gary blinked several times as he absorbed the information

"_SOD!"_ Gary thought _"That means Special Operations Destroyer."_ Then realization dawned on him.

"You're working for the SOC." He said loudly, more as a statement than a question "Congratulations. You deserved it." He gave his friend a pat on his back.

Bruce winced "Not so loud if you will. No one must know that we are doing operations here." Then he smiled "And thanks."

"Anyway, you can count on me, I won't say a word."

Bruce nodded

"So what kind of operations do you do?" Gary asked changing the topic

"Infiltration, recon, surgical strikes and the capture of enemy technology, all of this with out the enemy knowing about it. In another words, the usual." He ended with a slight smile.

"Against the Minbari?"

"Yes." Bruce answered with a very serious tone "That is one of the things I have got to warn you about."

"Since the failed attempt at establishing relations with the Minbari Federation and the subsequent destruction of the Scimitar, the GTVA council has become weary of the Minbari. They are very aggressive, extremely arrogant, and genocidal. They wouldn't think twice about exterminate us all, if it would suit their needs." He stooped to look at Gary who was listening intently, then continued

"That is why the SOC was tasked with finding more about them, and as a way to keep them off balance in this system and another one that was discovered."

"Another star system?"

"Yes, one scout wing managed to locate a stable jump node to another system, and, according with a few reports I've read, it was a previously owned Earth Alliance system, due to the large amounts of debris scattered all over the system. The SOD Hastur was ordered to that system to survey it and, if possible, stall the Minbari advance on the EA Terrans."

Gary shook is head "Then we are really going to war."

"No." Bruce responded quickly "At least not yet. The Security Council decided to give peace one more chance, they aren't eager to go to war only a few years after the depression has ended, but they don't approve the needless massacre of Terrans, so even if peace is assured with the Minbari, they will have to stop the war. No reason is good enough for elimination of an entire race."

"But you are already making strikes against Minbari Targets!" Gary asked, concerned about at the actions of SOC and its possible consequences.

"We make sure that all traces of our operations are eliminated." Bruce said coldly. "Just like you did when those three Minbari fighters attacked you."

"You're right." Gary admitted "Just be sure to always come back in one piece."

"Hey, it's me you're talking about. The Minbari couldn't take me out even if I was flying blind."

Their laughter was cut short when the Gary's communicator activated and the voice of his squadron commander was heard

"_All pilots are to report immediately to the debriefing room. Repeat, all pilots are to go immediately to the debriefing room, this is not an exercise_."

Gary frowned. "I just got back from a mission." He grumbled.

"Still" Bruce said "You have to go." He extended his hand forward which Gary shook

"Come back anytime, perhaps we will fly in the same wing again." Gary said

"You can count on it." Then his expressions turned to one of worry and seriousness "And about the Minbari, by now you've noticed that their technology is inferior to our own, but don't let that fool you. They are relentless in their attacks, and a few of them are quite skilled, so be careful and always on guard." He turned around and walked away while Gary quickly made his way to the debriefing room.


	4. Chapter 4

**grayangle** : Good hunting, the game is well worth it.  
**Worker72:** The Vorlons are not pleased with the apearance of the GTVA especially since their presence can upset the Vorlons plans have for the upcoming war with the shadows.**  
Majin83:** There will not be another colossus in this story..At least until now. Only the future will tell :)**  
****Sati James:** The Gray Council is out of reach of the GTVA. And the Scimitar(which is a Leviathan Heavy cruiser) was not expecting an attack that is why it was destroyed so easily.  
**Chaos Blade:** Constructive criticism is welcome and wanted, and I thank you for it, I will try to improve.  
**Arachnid:** That is the main disadvantage of the GTVA, they can jump around at will inside the system but to move to another system they have to use Jump nodes, and to find one is quite a task. That problem could be solved by the EA, they have Hyperspace engines. We'll see :)

To everybody else thank you for reviewing i really apreciate it.

* * *

**EAS Apollo Nova-X Destroyer**

**Cooke Star System**

The EAS Apollo and its escort ships came out of Hyperspace near the one of the systems' outer planets, and, as General Leftcourt expected, there were already several dozen ships in orbit, which were helping the colonists evacuate and bore the symbol of Earth Force.

There were half a dozen warships, mostly Hyperion heavy cruisers and a few Nova Dreadnaughts, the rest were freighters and transports, all of which were lead by the EAS Monolith. But there was something else that caught his eye. Looking closer, he saw signs of damage on several vessels and the remains of a space station and, at least, a capital ship. One word passed trough his mind: _Minbari!_

"Lieutenant Varis, open a channel to the Monolith." He ordered

"Yes sir." The lieutenant manipulated the controls for a moment "EAS Monolith C&C online, one lieutenant commander Linvail."

"This is General Leaftcourt, commanding officer of the EAS Apollo, what happened?" He asked, even if he already knew the answer.

The face of dark skinned man appeared on the main view screen, he was bleeding from a nasty cut on his forehead, the bridge behind him look like a war zone, smoke filled the air and several support beams lay fallen or twisted "It was the Minbari, sir." The man began, almost out of breath "They attacked us while we were in the middle of evacuating the civilians. Fortunately they retreated before causing severe damage but we still lost the EAS Adventurer and several fighter squadrons."

He was shocked "They retreated!" The Minbari almost never retreated. It only happened when they were massively outnumbered, something that Earth force didn't have here, or it served some other purpose. It was painful to say, but a single War cruiser was enough to deal with the small fleet present here.

The lieutenant commander of the Monolith nodded "Yes sir. They seemed to be looking for something, they made intensive scans of each of our ships, and then left after they were finished. It is strange I admit, but I'm thankful nonetheless."

Leftcourt cleared his throat "Regardless of why they retreated, evacuating the people of this colony is our main concern, my ships are standing by to assist. How long until the evacuation is complete?"

"At least two hours. Search teams are still going over the rubble of the destroyed cities. The bombardment was brief but devastating."

"Understood, Lieutenant." He answered. But before the link could be broken he spoke again "However, there is one more issue to cover. The EAS Ulysses was supposed to also be in this sector, in an important mission. Have you heard anything from it?"

Linvail thought for a moment before answering "No sir, not to my knowledge. No transmissions were received." He grimaced "Given the movement of Minbari ships in this sector it is very likely that they were destroyed."

"Alright" Leftcourt responded with an air of resignation "I'll make sure Earth Dome is notified about their possible destruction."

* * *

**Shargoti War Cruiser Shalan'ti  
Cooke Star System**

Alyt Norann watched the Human fleet orbit the planet, their shuttles and transports evacuating as many non-combatants they could. Their fighters, gunboats and smaller capital ships formed a perimeter around the larger ships acting as a first line of defence against attackers.

An effective action to take when fighting standard enemies, but, unfortunately for the Humans, the Minbari are not standard enemies, they are the oldest of the younger races and the victors of the last great war. The Humans cannot win, they can only delay the inevitable, and still he could not help but admire their bravery, charging into their deaths only to buy time for their brethren to flee. The other Alyts simply laugh at the Humans actions and describe them as the actions of a race with limited intelligence and a primitive and barbaric society.

He completely disagreed with them.

The Humans were worthy opponents, their technology was primitive but their tactics and strategies were very impressive, and, even if it was hard to admit it, they had more sense than many Alyts. Many of the warriors preferred to jump in, fusion cannons blazing, fully confident that the enemy ships whoever them belong to, could not hurt them, and many times receiving a very shocking surprise, like it happened to Vandronn, the fool sent only a portion of his war group to fight a large human fleet, and ordered them to exit hyperspace in the middle of enemy fleet.

The end result, more than half of his war cruisers were destroyed or damaged beyond any hope of repair.

He would not act like that and put his ship and his task force in danger. Right now, he had six Sharlin war cruisers, five Tinashi war frigates and his own Shargoti heavy war cruiser, along with the ships complement of Nial heavy fighters, more than enough to obliterate the Human fleet orbiting the planet. Still, he would not attack without knowing what he was about to face, or he could possibly suffer another defeat like Vandronn.

But there is also another reason for him to be acting so cautiously.

Lately, there has been a string of attacks on Minbari supply convoys and single ships. These would be normally classified as Human hit and fade attacks, but the complete destruction of the attacked ships and lack of debris from even something as small as a fighter led him and a few others to think that this was not the work of the humans but of another race, one that could stand up to the Minbari war machine.

He brought his suspicion to the Gray Council, after a brief meeting they ordered him to coordinate with the rangers to search for the attackers, but only after eradicating the humans from this system.

He said nothing to them, simply bowed and walked away to fulfil the mission given to him.

After meeting with several of them, the Rangers immediately supplied him with the coordinates of the last attack and put several of their ships under his command. Once this human fleet was destroyed, he fully intended to take his war group and search for any clue about the identity of the unseen attackers, he just hoped that they were not who the rangers were afraid of it was.

Sighing, he turned to the task at hand "Signal all ships to prepare to engage the Human fleet, but fire only when I give the order."

The Shalan'ti and its escorts powered up their systems, and slowly but surely made their way to the nearby planet, undetected by its defenders.

* * *

**Delphi contested system**

The Minbari Alyt in command of the three Tinashi task force smiled as the two small Human vessels were engulfed by the withering volley from the war frigates forward guns, that attack was quick enough and powerful enough to destroy any Earther ship several times over, so it came as quite a surprise to him as he saw both ships, hull scorched and damaged but still intact.

He knew of nothing that could withstand that kind of firepower, except the races known as the first ones, but they did not interfere with the younger races. Except if they decided to help the Humans.

He cleansed that thought from his mind, the humans were not deserving of even seeing a first one, much less getting help from one. They needed to be put down like the animals they are, so he ordered his crew to fire again, however the closest Human ship fired first.

Twin Photon beam cannons lanced out at the foremost Minbari ship, which impacted the ship with tremendous force, vaporizing armor, bulkheads and crewmen alike. They continued to slice apart the ship, until finally hitting the singularity reactor that powered the Minbari warship.

The Minbari ship, a Tinashi War Frigate, exploded violently, peppering its companions with a shower of debris.

The remaining two Minbari commanders stood for several seconds, mouth agape at the firepower displayed by the small Human ship. They were shocked at the fact that not only could the Human vessel actually destroy them but also the fact that it could also target them. Those seconds cost them dearly for, in that time, the Human ship unleashed a volley of pulse shots, the powerful energy bursts hitting the ships with deadly effect, putting large hulls on the crystalline armor or simply blowing out huge chunks of it.

The War Frigates again fired their weapons but this time only a few shots hit, and those that did were not powerful enough to pierce the tough armor, the Human ship was taking evasive manoeuvres and was jamming the Minbari sensors, a brief glow at the front of the ship signalled the discharge of yet another burst of its powerful beams, turning the front of one frigate into slag and slicing off the top fin of the other, along with the heavy antimatter cannon.

The Minbari pilots seeing their motherships in trouble swarmed around the Human ship, showered it with fighter sized neutron cannons, causing the armor to glow briefly but doing nothing more than simply leaving a small scorch mark.

The return fire, however, was deadly effective. Explosions from the Aeolus cruiser rapid fire flak guns rippled around the cloud of Minbari fighters, destroying or damaging many, even near misses proved most of the time to be fatal as the shrapnel from the exploding projectiles scythed trough the Minbari crystalline armor like a hot knife trough butter, and the two anti fighter beams claimed their toll as they vaporized every offending fighter they touched.

The Minbari pilots, so used to always be on the offensive, now found themselves fighting to survive, but the cruiser wasn't their only threat. The four oddly shaped fighters that were guarding the small Human ship came down on the surviving Minbari fighters, firing their weapons with unnerving accuracy and power.

Missiles tracked down and hit their targets, ending their existence in the fire of a fusion explosion. Energy weapons, fighter and capital ship alike, design to pierce and damage Shivan shields and armour, found their mark.

The crystalline armor of the Minbari, which protected them from their enemies for centuries, was now all but useless against the attacks it now received, and their weapons so effective at destroying the Humans were unable to pierce the energy fields of the fighters or the dense armor of the capital ship present here.

Another Tinashi war frigate was cut in two, the large pieces floating away adding to the growing remains of shattered ships. Its companion fired all its weapons, more in desperation then in anger. The targeted ship, the GTC Warrior, was hit amidships, the beams raked across its surface, armor boiled and splintered, another turret was put out of commission, one of its engines flickered, a sign of heavy damage to it, but it still was operational.

The Minbari commanding the last surviving Tinashi stood in the middle of the bridge, smoke permeated the air and more than a section of the bridge had signs of damage, he simply could not believe what he was seeing: a ship, almost three times smaller than his own, managed to defeat not one but three war frigates and their complement of fighters.

He took a moment to look at another projection: in it, he saw his Nial escort that despite outnumbering their targets by a factor of three to one, still could not win. The energy fields that those Earthen star fighters fielded were capable of deflecting every attack made upon them, and their weapons can take out a Nial heavy fighter with a single volley. To punctuate his thoughts, another Minbari fighter and its pilot fell before a hail of green pulses.

He looked away from it, and into the main projection: he saw the front of the small ship that they attempted to destroy. The trap had worked, leaving a few survivors behind whom would most certainly attract Earther ships that would attempt to rescue them, but it seems that the hunters had become the hunted. The ship, despite its size, resisted the attacks inflicted on it and returned fire with weapons never seen before.

The front of the ship glowed brightly, a signal its weapons we ready to fire. The Alyt stood his ground ready to accept his fate, and then the bridge was engulfed in a bright light

Kurt looked at the view screen, seeing the last Minbari warship exploding and joining the other two in drifting trough space. The battle was over but it did nothing to calm his mind.

"Report?" He asked to one lieutenant

"All enemy capital ships neutralized! Hull integrity at 52. Extensive damage to all subsystems. Armor breached in several decks." The lieutenant stated while pouring over the information displayed on his computer screen "There are still a few fighters out there but Beta wing reports it will be over in a few moments."

"And the Gaia, what's her status?"

The officer quickly manipulated several controls bringing up the current condition of the ship "They have been hit hard, captain."

"How bad?" Fear gripping his voice. The Gaia was not a pure military ship, many civilians, manly scientists, crew it and their safety was the GTC Warriors mission.

The lieutenant hesitated for a moment before continuing "Heavy casualties, extensive damage to superstructure, most subsystems are down, it may need to be scuttled."

Kurt punched the arm of his command chair in anger. First the Scimitar and the Andromeda and now the Gaia. All of them unprovoked attacks. The GTVA will not let this go unanswered for.

"Send recovery teams to it. Try to get at least the jump drives online and transfer all the wounded to our medical bay."

The lieutenant turned to his console, relaying orders.

"And were the hell are my reinforcements?" Kurt demanded a bit more forcibly than he wanted.

"They will arrive in a few minutes; composition is two corvettes and a full two squadron of fighters." His second in command replied

"_About time!" _He thought to himself.

* * *

The ancient being saw and recorded the battle, but the result was not what it expected. The Minbari outnumbered the Human ship and its fighters, yet they could not win, this was not supposed to occur, the Humans do not have the technology to stand against the Minbari… But the evidence was here for the entire universe to see. 

The being was determine to find out what went wrong, so, stretching out with his mind, he reached into the mind of the one the being thought it is the commanding officer of the human warship, trying to discover how did the Humans have these technologies.

Several moments' later realization dawned on him. These were not the Earth Alliance Humans, these creatures were not supposed to even be on this area of the galaxy, action must be taken. If these Humans and their Vasudan allies are allowed to interfere in this war then the great circle will be broken, and all he and his brethren worked for will for nothing.

That can not be allowed to happen, but he alone could not decide, he would have to go back to his home world and relay back the information that he gathered, and only then will a course of action be taken.

He sent a telepathic signal to his ship. It responded immediately, by opening a portal to hyperspace, and setting course to its home. The Vorlon Empire.


	5. Chapter 5

Sorry for the long wait, a grave case of authors block as hit me, but enough waiting, here is the latest chapter. Anyway I'm leaving in vacations for about two/three weeks, I will try to write down what I want for the next one.

PS: Some of you should have received something about a Chapter 6, that was a mistake of mine so ignore it. There isn't any chapter 6,yet.

Special thanks to **Dead Ghost, Jedi Lord Skywalker **and **Guy-In-The-Shadows**

**CHAPTER 5 **

**GTCv Justice  
Delphi Star System**

Captain Hecker watched with a grim expression as the GTC Warrior and her escort fighters entered subspace with the damaged hulk of the science cruiser in tow, rescue shuttles and pods returned to the two corvettes. With them they carried the Earth Alliance personnel that escaped the destruction of their fleet, and now the near loss of the Gaia.

They were diverted from their mission by Central Command to assist a cruiser and a science vessel that were under attack by Minbari forces, but, unfortunately, arrived too late. Surprisingly though, Captain Vohler and his crew managed to not only hold off the Minbari warships but actually destroy them. However, the cruiser ended with extensive damage and, despite their best efforts, they could not save the Gaia from receiving crippling damage. About 35 of the science cruiser crew is dead and the ship is a wreck, most likely having to be scuttled.

Needless to say that everyone was outraged at the Minbari actions. There was still no certainty about what kind of war the Minbari were doing, but the talk about entire planets being scoured of life were, at the very least, disturbing.

"Captain," Lieutenant Simon, his second in command, said "The Earth Alliance survivors have arrived!"

"Good. Send them to their assigned quarters, and keep a squad of marines with them at all time, let's not take any changes. We still don't know how they'll react."

"Yes, sir." Lieutenant commander Simon responded

"Open a communications channel to the GVCv Meruteph."

After a few moments, the face of Captain Akher appeared on the main viewer. "Channel open, sir."

"Sir, we have the EA survivors on board, there is nothing more for us here, shall we proceed with our original mission?" Hecker asked.

"Yes, captain." The computerized voice of the translator was heard muffling the harsh Vasudan language. "However, we will take a small detour."

Matthew narrowed his eyes at the Vasudan Captain "What do you mean, Sir?"

"As you know, recon flights found that the second planet on this system has the highest concentration of EA Terrans. It is there were we will go. We will jump near it and open communications." Akher stated

"With all do respect, Sir, our orders are to open relations with the Minbari to try and find a peaceful way, as impossible as of now, to try and resolve this mess?"

The Vasudan nodded "Yes, it is true, but the Admiral has given me a quite amount of freedom on this mission. Besides, the Minbari are going to attack the colony sooner or later, we just have to wait." The Vasudan ended with a small grin.

Hecker was confused, but a moment later understanding dawned on him "I understand now, if the Minbari do attack and refuse to talk, we will then be forced to fight and defeat them, and, by showing this display of force, will make the Earth Alliance Terrans think twice before trying anything funny with us." He ended with grin of hit own.

Akher smiled in a way that only Vasudans can "Very good, Captain Hecker. I see that the Admirals' trust in you was well founded."

Hecker bowed his head in a signal of respect "Thank you, Sir. Now what do we do with our guests? Right now I have them in special quarters under surveillance."

"You should talk to one of them, their highest ranking officer if possible, and explain the GTVA intention in this area. I will transfer myself to you ship to assist you. Also, the Data pad the Admiral has given contains all the instructions you should need."

"Yes, sir. I didn't have the time to review everything yet." Hecker admitted.

"It shouldn't take more than a few minutes to read everything related with first contact, so do it before talking with the EA Terran, try to gain their thrust, but be very careful, we still know little about this area and its inhabitants." Captain Akher warned.

"Understood, sir."

"I'm sending you the coordinates for our destination. Set course to it immediately after my arrival. GVCv Meruteph out."

Captain Hecker turned to Lieutenant Simon "Set course to the coordinates supplied by Captain Akher as soon as arrives, and order a security detachment to bring our guests' highest ranking officer to the briefing room, and make sure they are will be well treated at all times. I'll be there momentarily."

**

* * *

**

**Galactic Terran Corvette Justice  
Briefing Room**

Lieutenant commander Mira Goodwin sat in one of the many chairs in the room patiently waiting. She had been told, after being herded into this room, that the captain of this ship would be meeting with her to clear any questions or doubts she had and many she had.

These Humans were nothing like the Earth Force. The uniforms were different, their attitude was somewhat different. The ships, while having that familiar utilitarian design, had artificial gravity tech which was beyond the capabilities of the Earth Alliance. Besides that, the power of their ships was enormous.

She saw the destruction of three Minbari War Frigates by a ship that barely classifies as a capital ship, and the fighters completely outclassed the Nials, despite being outnumbered.

For the first time since the start of this war, hope shone within her, for, if they shared this technology with the Earth Alliance, then the war will end and the Minbari will be put back in their place.

But something was nagging at her, they said they weren't from Earth Force! Then the question is: where are they from? A possibility is that this might be some kind of a black ops project. She shook her head at the thought It was impossible for the Earth Force to create technology like this, unless they had had help from someone.

These questions and many more passed trough her mind, but, before she could continue with her train of thought, the door opened and a man entered, probably in his mid thirties, with average stature and short brown hair. He carried what looked like a small data pad, and was dressed in the same dark grey uniform that everyone in this ship had.

Flanking the door behind him stood two burly soldiers, each had combat armour covering the chest, shoulders and legs. The helmet had a small visor over one eye and every part of the face, but the eyes were covered. The distinguishing features were that each carried a menacing weapon easily the size of their arm; however, the most notorious of them all was not a human but an Alien. It was large and easily towered over both the Guards and the uniformed human. The alien had a tunic covering most of it brown coloured body, only showing the thick and powerful, though strangely built, arms.

She got up and made herself look as harmless as possible, eyeing the alien and the Guards.

The Man looked at her for a moment and then extended his hand "Greetings on behalf of the GTVA, I am Captain Matthew Hecker, commander of this Ship, and this is Captain Akher commander of the GVCv Meruteph, he is the ranking officer of this small fleet."

The large alien bowed deeply at her, and she did likewise.

Mira now knew with certainty that these humans were not from Earth Force, no human from Earth would be under the command of an Alien, only raiders would do that and even then they would not rescue her, except if they thought they had anything to gain and this technology impossible for them to get. Right now, her objective is to find out where they are from and where did they got this technology and if they could share it, for such would mean the salvation of the EA.

"I'm sure you have a lot of questions on your mind now." Captain Hecker stated, clearly noticing her pensive look "Take your seat so we can start this meeting."

They all sat down, except for the two armoured guards, and the first official contact between the GTVA and the EA began.

**

* * *

**

**EAS Apollo Nova-X Destroyer  
Cooke Star System**

General Lefcourt swore under his breath as another cruiser was cut in half, the two pieces slowly drifting in opposite directions before being consumed by internal explosions.

The attack was completely unexpected, which taking everything into account wasn't surprising, the stealth capabilities of the Minbari allowed them to attack without detection.

This, however, wasn't an average Minbari assault. They kept out of range of the Novas and Hyperions and were slowly, but steadily, destroying the Earth Force ships. Usually they would simply engage Earth ships at point blank range.

The ship shook violently and several crew members that weren't strapped to their seats were sent flying.

"We're hit!" A recently transferred crewmember shouted over the sound of the alarms blaring on the bridge "Engine 3 is offline as well as the aft batteries, decks three, four and five have been breached, and blast doors have sealed the affected areas. Casualty reports still coming in."

"Just keep firing at the suspected area of the Minbari ships." Lefcourt ordered "What is the status of the transports?"

"They are still evacuating the remaining survivors."

Lefcourt closed his eyes; a wave of sadness washed over his face, the next order will send several thousand people, civilians, to their death at Minbari hands. "Give the order; all transports are to leave now. The Missouri, the Orion and a squadron of Starfuries will escort them to the jump gate, the rest of us will hold off the Minbari ships as long as we can."

The crewmember looked at him, completely shocked at his order. "General, there are still a more then three thousand people on the planet, including Earth Force personnel."

"I know, crewmen, but there is no way to save them all. Once the Minbari finish us off, and the transports will be next. If they leave now, they can escape, and if we try to save them all then there will be no one to remember this battle." General Lefcourt looked sternly at the young crewmen "Now give the order, better to leave now and save a few, than stay longer and lose all."

The crewmen sigh in resignation while slowly turning towards is station "Yes, sir, you are right, relaying the order now."

The commanders of the transport ships didn't like idea of leaving behind thousands of people stranded at the mercy of the Minbari but they had no choice, the General was right, they could do no more. Moments later, the transports orbiting the planet realigned themselves towards the far jump gate and accelerated, leaving behind the still raging battle and its foregone conclusion.

Back on the Apollo, General Lefcourt was, despite everything, calm. Death was inevitable but he will go as they say _out with a bang_! "Signal all ships, engines to full power and converge on the area where the Minbari are, try to gain as much time as possible for the transports escape, make the Minbari pay for every Human life lost here today!"

A chorus of "Sirs" echoed on the bridge, and the engines of each Human ship glowed brightly as they accelerated towards the Minbari, constantly firing their plasma cannons.

Lefcourt stared at the main viewer watching the Earth Fleet advance forward. They were in the right direction since the enemy fire was intensifying. He spared a moment to see where the transport went, luckily they were almost at the jump gate.

He returned his gaze back to the viewer; the fleet was now at a third of its starting strength and will not last more than a few minutes.

"As soon as we are in range, target the nearest war cruiser and ram it." He ordered, as futile as it was for he could not hope to reach that distance, in a single piece at least.

The same crewmember that talked before turned to him "General, I'm detecting several energy discharges near the Minbari ships."

"Show me."

The crewmember changed the viewer to the energy emissions, and what Lefcourt saw made his jaw drop.

**

* * *

**

**Shargoti War Cruiser Shalan'ti  
Cooke Star System**

Alyt Norann saw the retreating transports, most likely carrying the civilian population that survived the previous bombardment by Alyt Dashan, almost reach the jump gate. It was of no consequence, they weren't a threat and he wasn't too interested in slaughtering non combatants, a practice common among other members of Warrior caste, a practice that he found repulsive. Many times he found himself arguing with others for his views on Humans, and if this war is really holy.

'_What challenge is there in fighting someone that can not fight back?' _He asked himself and many others, whom responded by saying that it was all in honour of Dukhat.)

He will carry the commands of the Grey Council for he could do no less, but he just can not help to think how wrong this is. Would have Dukhat really approved of this massacre?

Turning to his left, stood Irisval, a representative of the Rangers. His face was blank, showing no emotions at all, but the eyes were a different matter, as it made clear he also did not approve of this war.

Turning back to the projection, he saw the approaching Human fleet, firing their weapons all the way, but while he respected them he could not allow them to threaten his fleet. More lives snuffed out by this needless war, a war that could and should have been avoided.

"All cruisers, fire at will. Do not let them reach us." He commanded, but the warrior in charge of managing the sensors spoke to him in a higher tone than expected before the order was carried out

"Alyt, unknown energy emissions on our starboard side!"

Norann looked up as the projection changed to the centre of those emissions, a massive blue-white vortex made its presence in space, as it rippled in waves towards its centre like it was made of water. To Norann it reminded him of a whirlpool in a ocean, however he had little to time to appreciate it fully for a large and unknown ship came barrelling out of it.

The ship was for what he could tell larger than even his own Shargotti War cruiser and much more massive, it had an utilitarian feel to it, with very large engines and large turreted weapons, a protrusion like an ear was on each side of the front of the ship as well on the side of each of the main engines, a fin like extension below the ship also housed two smaller engines. No Minbari in his right mind would allow such a ship leave the shipyard, if fact the only similar ship design was the Humans, and even then there were many differences, there were parts on that ship that make no sense as well as the emissions being vastly different.

He doesn't know to whom this ship belongs to but he intends to find out.

He was about to order a communication channel to be opened when two glows appeared of the front of the unknown ship. For a split second they stood there, two suns in the darkness of space which then converted themselves into two focussed green beams of light, each targeting a different Sharlin War cruiser.

When they impacted, the result was devastating. Both ships were instantly destroyed, the remaining debris no larger than a Nial fighter.

Norann wasted no time "All ships ignore the Humans, concentrate all fire on that ship. Fighter groups are to destroy all weapons emplacements present; those two emitters on the front take priority."

Sharlins, Tinashis, Nials and the Shalan'Ti fired all their weapons at the large ship that will later be known to the Minbari as an Hecate class Destroyer. Neutron beams raked the dark armour causing little more than a scorch mark and barely visible damage. Fusion cannons tried in vain to drill trough the heavy armour, even the massive Antimatter cannon of the Shalan'ti had little effect on the tough armour.

The large ship responded in kind, pulse blast shots were shot out in volleys, the energy blasts hit the nearest War cruisers, damaging them heavily and scattering them. The fighters were also hard, blue energy beams vaporized Nials on contact while some type of projectile weapons cut a swathe through the encroaching fighters.

A Tinashi, either by luck or skill, managed to avoid much of the returning fire and flank the enemy ship, and it poured volley after volley into the armoured hide only to be literally cut in half by another green beam.

More energy disturbances opened behind the Minbari fleet, but instead of a single large one, there were several dozen of the strange jump points but much smaller. Fighter craft streamed out of them and immediately attack the unprotected rear of the Angelfish shaped ships. The Minbari fighters scrambled to protect their mother ships but, before they arrived, a Tinashi was already dead in space, victim of a barrage of torpedoes from the Bombers accompanying the fighters.

Back onboard the Shalan'Ti, Norann was frantic, relaying orders was difficult as the large ship was putting out a immense amount of jamming. Suddenly, one of the enemy fighters passed in front of the projection, it was near black with an extended cockpit, below it was the energy guns, lights dotted its hull at intervals and the powerful engines ran down each side of the fighter pushing the ship forward.

He tracked it, watching it destroy two Nials with the same ease a Nial destroys a group of Earth Fighters, noting with concern that the armour was useless against the enemies weapons. Several Nials concentrated their power on it but the fighter shrugged it off, a blue field stopping them before reaching the hull. The fighter turned around and fired a swarm of eight missiles each tracking a Nial fighter, each finding their target and eliminating it.

The fighter then joined three more fighters of the same design, they were escorting a group of larger fighters, bombers most likely given their size, in route to a Tinashi. The War frigate poured heavy fire from the fighter deterrent weapons into the group, however the enemy energy fields absorbed the attacks protecting the fighters from serious harm.

He watched with disbelieving eyes as the eight strong group approached the war frigate, in a instant as the escort wing exploded forward in a starburst formation, the bombers launched torpedoes, two each making a total of eight. The torpedoes closed with the frigate which was now taking evasive manoeuvres and firing steadily at the approaching bombs. Two were shot down but the rest made contact, and, in a blinding flash of light, the frigate was no more.

The bombers turned around, hunting for another target.

The projection wavered as the ship shook suddenly, Norann nearly fell and smoke started to fill the bridge.

"What happened?" He commanded.

"We have been hit, heavy damage to all systems." One of the warriors on the bridge responded while looking at a screen "Gravitic drive is losing power, as well as weapons."

Norann considered his options but took only a split second to reach a conclusion "All ships…"He hesitated, this was surely to put him as a coward or worse in the eyes of the others warriors. "Retreat. Signal the fighters we are going to jump into hyperspace, this battle is lost."

Every one in the bridge looked at him, as if he'd gone mad.

"Retreat. NOW." He repeated, harsher than before.

One of the younger warriors approached him. Judging by his expression, it was clear he wasn't happy

"How can you even think about retreat when we must take revenge upon these new enemies? They must be shown the error of their ways."

Norann smirked "Is that so. Then answer me this. How can you take revenge on them when our entire task force combined couldn't pierce their armour, and they can destroy our ships at will?"

To punctuate his words the ship shook again. The young warrior said nothing

"Now, go back to your post or I will be forced to throw you out of the bridge."

The young warriors face went red with anger but turned around and went to leave the bridge but stopped at the exit "You are a coward."

Norann shook his head "No, I am not a coward; I simply have more common sense than you." He turned to the others not giving a chance for the young warrior to answer.

"Now, jump into hyperspace, and if any of you have something to say to me, tell me later."

**

* * *

**

**EAS Apollo Nova-X Destroyer  
Cooke Star System**

Lefcourt watched, shocked at the power of the Unknown warship as it picked apart the Minbari formation, its armour easily absorbing the attacks of the Minbari while returning fire with weapons powerful enough to destroy the feared war cruisers in a single hit.

And the fighters. The fighters were unbelievable. While the warship, it was a warship no doubt about it, could easily withstand the attacks of the Minbari, the fighters could not only defeat the Minbari Nials with trouble, the deadly weapons of the Nails do not even inflict scorch damage upon them, some type of energy barrier stopped.

He didn't know who they are, but frankly for now he did not care, he just wanted to see the Minbari get what they deserved, and it wasn't just him, everyone on the bridge and he would bet everyone in the fleet that had access to a screen was cheering.

Every time a Minbari ship was destroyed a roar of satisfaction swept through the bridge and joined them, pumping his fist his excitement.

Perhaps earth as found their salvation.

The joyful experience ended quickly and silence fell but not for the wrong reasons. Moments after a biggest war cruiser was hit by a glancing blow, which sheared off a fin and damaged it heavily, jump points appeared in front of the Minbari capital ships.

"Are they retreating?" A single voice rang out.

Lefcourt didn't know who asked it, but with is eyes still focused on the view screen and the warship in he responded. "Yes, yes they are. It is unbelievable but the Minbari actually retreated."

Silence fell again of the bridge as everyone stared at the screen.

"Are they going to help us?" The inevitable question was asked.

Lefcourt shook is head slowly "I don't know." He slowly adjusted his uniform as the professional side of him took hold.

"But we will find out. Hail the unknown ship and open a channel to the Monolith, also signal the transports to turn around and collect the last survivors still on planet, and I want everyone back at their stations, even if the boneheads retreated now they will be back. I want a status of the fleet as quickly as possible."

The crew quickly returned to their seats, while the screen changed to the bridge of the Monolith and Commander Linvail behind, support beams, chairs and electronic components lay on the floor or simply floated through the air.

"Commander, have you ever seen a ship like that?"

Linvail shook is head. "Never in my life, though they resemble our ships in the rough edges and utilitarian feel."

Lefcourt turned to the communications officer "Have there been any response yet?"

"No sir. They either can't either hear us or are ignoring us."

Lefcourt rubbed his chin as he contemplating this new piece of information. Out there is a ship with enormous power capable of standing up to and defeating the fearded Minbari cruisers. They, whoever they are, were now the last hope for Earth.

"Sir. The ship, it's leaving."

Lefcourt shoot his gaze back at the seen sure enough the ship and its escorting fighters went trough the same strange blue jump points. It didn't take more than half a minute until the EA fleet was the only thing in the area, leaving everyone of them wondering who their mysterious saviours were and most importantly, if they will they help them again.

The answer will soon be known.


	6. Chapter 6

Well here it is. Chapter 6. Sorry for the delay.  
**

* * *

Galactic Terran Corvette Justice  
Briefing room**

"Let me get this straight!" The Human captain named Matthew Hecker looked at her in dismay "One of your captains opened fire on their ship!"

Mira sighed _'They really aren't from around here.'_

The more she talked to them the more she comes to believe they really are from another part of the galaxy. Normally she would dismiss that notion and call the one who claimed that a lunatic, but what she saw made her reconsider that, though.

Minbari warships, torn apart by a single ship, several times smaller than theirs, the same ship also capable of withstanding the power of Minbari weapons. No Earth Force warship or even Centauri warships are capable of that feat.

Still, despite that, she could not bring herself to fully believe them, nevertheless they knew nothing about this area and its history, or at least, claimed not to.

She told them of the Dilgar war, the Centauri, the Narn, the League, the history of known space and of the Earth Alliance.

"That is correct. However, the Minbari ships approached with gun ports opened and did not respond to hails."

"In that situation the best course of action would have been to retreat from the area." Akher responded

"That's true, but the Minbari scanners had scrambled the electronics of our ships. Captain Jankowski assumed, however wrong it was, that the Minbari ships were preparing to attack and opened fire. The rest, is as you can see."

Both captains stayed silent for several moments before Akher replied "Well it seems that the blame for this war is on both sides." The Vasudan stated "Still, the minor casualties taken in your attack on their war cruiser is not a reason to do what they did."

"Does that mean that you will help us?" She asked of them, her expression one of hope.

"There is a high possibility of that happening, and that depends on your government. The Minbari have attacked us without provocation, they have destroyed one cruiser, damaged two others, one of which is a civilian vessel under military protection, and refused to respond to any communication attempts."

"So you are going to war with the Boneheads?"

Both captains looked at her in surprise "Boneheads?"

She chuckled lightly "It is a joke to describe the Minbari, not important but very fitting."

Hecker cleared his throat "Right. Now for you former question, we can't answer it at this moment, but I can guarantee that the GTVA will not allow the Minbari to get away with what they've done."

"Then you will help us!" It was more of a statement than a question.

"As I've said, it depends on your government." This time it was the Vasudan that responded "But in my opinion you already suffered enough for your attack. The GTVA is already assembling transports carrying medical and food supplies to be delivered to EA colonies that require them."

"But before they are delivered, we have several conditions."

She looked at the large alien. _'That doesn't sound good'_

"We wish for a meeting with the leader of your government, for signing of a temporary alliance, while this war lasts, and that we be allowed a permanent outpost on this system."

Mira nodded slowly "The only one who can authorize any of those conditions is the president."

"We assumed as such, and that is why we need your help. Currently we are approaching your main colony in this system, once there we need you to help us convey our intentions, for I believe the EA forces there will be exceptionally suspicions and possibly aggressive, with you here with us they will probably be more open to us. Once these procedures are finished we are ready to fight the Minbari along side your forces."

Mira nearly jumped at that statement. Here is possibly the salvation of the Earth Alliance, but there is one thing that was on her mind.

"Alright, I understand what needs to be done, but there is one thing I must know if I am to help to the best of my abilities."

This time is was the Human who spoke "To know what the GTVA is."

She looked at him with a raised eyebrow. _'Is he a telepath?'_

"Yes. That is correct. I've never heard of it and I'm sure no one at Earth Force did either."

"Alright." Hecker said with a smile "You can't convey our intentions when you know nothing of us. So let me clear all your doubts."

"The Galactic Terran-Vasudan Alliance, GTVA for short, was formed in 2345, ten years after the 14 year war and the Great War. This treaty organization recognized the autonomy of its constituents, the Galactic Terran Alliance and the Vasudan Imperium, as it provided a framework for trade and mutual defense."

"As the industry and economy of the Terran-Vasudan systems recovered following the Great War, support for a more powerful GTVA gained momentum. In 2358, delegates signed into existence the Beta Aquilae Convention or BETAC, named after the system where the constitution was drafted and ratified. BETAC dismantled the governments of the Terran blocs and recognized the General Assembly, the Security Council, and the Vasudan Imperium as the supreme authorities of Terran-Vasudan space."

"Under BETAC, the Vasudans and the Terrans maintain separate fleets under a single command structure. A warship is designated GT or GV, indicating whether it is Galactic Terran or Galactic Vasudan. The two species openly exchange information and technology, and the most recent fighters and bombers can be modified to accommodate pilots of either species."

"Technically, BETAC is but one of a series of conventions and treaties that define how the GTVA functions as a political, military, and economic entity."

He turned to her "That is the GTVA in a nutshell. If you have anymore questions I will answer them to the best of my abilities."

"You mentioned those two wars at the beginning?"

"The 14 year war or also called the Terran-Vasudan war occurred at a time when the GTVA didn't exist and our races were not the best of friends."

"The Great War began in the fourteenth year of the Terran-Vasudan war when, the appearance of a third sentient species, designated Shivans, caused the Terrans and Vasudans to set aside their differences and combat the mutual threat. The Shivan armada, led by the shielded super destroyer Lucifer, however, marched through the Terran and Vasudan lines of defense, destroyed the Vasudan homeworld of Vasuda Prime, then set course for Earth."

"Earth?" She interrupted "What do you mean Earth? Earth was never under threat of destruction until now."

"Captain Hecker is referring to his species homeworld, not yours." Akher interjected

Mira shook her head "I'm sorry but that is impossible. There is only one Earth, it's impossible for another Earth to exist."

Hecker stared her for a moment, his face betraying surprise at her sudden outburst and a little bit of annoyance at being interrupted.

"Yes, that is true, but there is indeed another Earth."

"How is that possible?" She asked, thinking that perhaps she gave them too much credit.

"I don't know." Hecker admitted "But, while also curious about how it happened, I won't let it interfere with my duty, which is to protect the GTVA and its people against any enemy, be it Shivans, Minbari or any one else."

"But…" She started but was quickly interrupted

"Captain Hecker is right." Akher said "It is a mystery better left to scholars and scientists. At this moment our main priority is to reach your government's main colony on this system, and we need your help. We can't allow the Minbari to exterminate an entire race because of a minor incident."

Mira slumped down on her chair. Passing her hand trough her raven hair, she sighed. She wasn't even sure if what they said about another Earth was true, but they were right after all, the survival of the Earth Alliance was of paramount importance.

"I understand. I will help you make contact with the Earth Force ships on the colony, this mystery can wait."

Both captains nodded, satisfied with her answer.

"Excellent. Now as I was saying, the Lucifer set course for Earth but was intercepted by fighter and bomber wings launched from the GTD Bastion inside subspace where its shield didn't work. In the end, the Lucifer was destroyed but its explosion collapsed the node separating the Sol system from the Alliance for over forty years."

"In that time several other major wars occurred, however I'm not authorized to disclose any information about them for the time being."

He pulled out a datapad and handed it over to her.

"In there you will find more in-depth information about the GTVA and its workings. Keep it with you; the information stored in it will be useful."

She picked it up and looked at it for several moments before returning her gaze at the captains. She opened her mouth to speak but Hecker spoke first.

"I must apologize but we've reached our destination. Captain Akher must return to his ship."

"But before we go we have just one more question?" He pressed a few buttons on his computer and a holographic image formed, hovering above the center of the Table. "Do you know to whom this ship belongs to?"

Mira looked at it. It was of a design she never saw, strangely shaped with four arms springing forth from the main hull, it had a yellowish color with parts of it glowing blue, some type of writing was on the hull but it was completely alien to her.

"No, I've never seen anything like it."

"I see" He said while he looked at the hologram "No matter, we'll deal with it after resolving this issue with your government."

He turned to the Vasudan captain "I'll have your shuttle ready when you reach the hangar." He then bowed to the Vasudan, who promptly did like wise.

Turning towards her, he motioned for her to follow him.

A minute later they were both on the bridge of the Justice. Hecker sat down on his command chair, looking at the screen where the planet was shown, along with a station and a significant number of ships.

He took a side glance at the EA officer, she was staring intently at the screen, her face filled with a mixture of sadness and joy.

"Are you alright?" He asked of her

She shook her head "I'm just a little homesick, nothing to worry about?"

A lieutenant chose this time to spoke "Sir, there are two ships approaching our location. They are being escorted by several wings of fighters." He stopped for a moment "They are sending a message, audio only."

"Patch it trough." He ordered, straitening his uniform out of habit.

"This is Captain Ralston of the EAS Athena. You are in Earth Alliance space, identify yourselves and the reasons for your presence."

Hecker cleared his throat despite not being him to respond. That job was to captain Akher. "Greetings. I am Captain Akher, commanding officer of the GVCv Meruseth, accompanying me is Captain Matthew Hecker of the GTCv Justice. We represent the Galactic Terran-Vasudan Alliance. We intend no harm, and wish to open diplomatic relations with your government."

The line went silent for a minute. When the EA captain spoke again, her voice was filled with suspicion.

"I'm sorry, but I've never heard of this, Galactic Terran-Vasudan Alliance, now, either you identify yourselves, or I will open fire."

Hecker gritted his teeth. This wasn't what he was expecting and he was sure Akher was feeling the same.

"Sorry to interrupt but let me try." Mira told him "She will be friendlier if she talks to me."

He rubbed his chin for a moment "You sound as if you know her?"

"Yes. She's a friend of mine." Mira responded quietly

"Alright. Tell Captain Akher that Lieutenant Goodwin here might be more successful in communicating with them." He nodded to the comms officer who pressed a few buttons on his console. An authorization signal came moments later.

"You can speak freely, they will hear you." He stated

Mira smiled at him and nodded "EAS Athena, this is Lieutenant Commander Mira Goodwin of the EAS Intrepid. These people are on our side, they rescued me from the Minbari, and want to talk about a possible alliance against them."

The silence that followed was unnerving. Hecker thought that perhaps this wasn't such a good idea now.

"Captain" The crewmen in charge of communications suddenly reported "They are requesting a visual link."

"Do it." He ordered him

The crewmen pressed a few buttons, changing the view screen from showing the pair of warships in front of them to the bridge of the Athena. It wasn't that much different from the bridge of his own ship, crewmembers were arrayed around the center in charge of their designated stations. In the center sat the captain, a woman with sandy brown hair and green eyes, she stared not at him but at Mira.

"So you really are alive. Or is this some type of complex trap."

Mira smiled "Always the suspicious one. You can rest assured that this isn't a trap."

"I believe you but it is the Admiral that will be the judge of that." She then locked eyes with Hecker "And who are these people?"

"They belong to a government named GTVA, they were also attacked by the Minbari and are willing to help us, if we allow them. I'm alive thanks to their intervention. They saved me and a few others from the Minbari, taking casualties of their own."

"I see." Alicia said not completely convinced "And where do they found such a powerful ship?"

Mira was about to start but was interrupted.

"I'll answer that." Hecker said "This ship was built by the GTVA, it wasn't found. But that's beside the point, we are here to start diplomatic relations with your government in an effort to find a solution to the Minbari threat."

"Alicia, I know what you're thinking" Mira interjected "But I assure you that they don't intend to trick nor attack you. Their every action up to now proves that they are true to their word."

"Alright" Alicia conceded "I'm sending you the approach coordinates, once there, we are to meet with the Admiral in stations briefing room, failure to follow these commands will result in the use of lethal force."

"Understood, Athena." With that, the link was terminated and the screen changed to Akher.

"Your people are even more suspicious then we thought." The Vasudan addressed Mira.

Mira's face remained blank "Yes, and I must apologize for it. But if I were in her position, I would have felt the same. No other race has lifted a finger to help us, the Minbari made sure of that, so when an unknown government, even one with humans on it, appears out of nowhere claiming to be here to help us is to be looked upon with suspicion." She finished with a sad smile.

"Fair enough." Hecker commented "Let's just hope that they would be more willing to listen to us when we arrive there."

**EAS Athena**

**Bridge**

She couldn't believe it but Mira was alive, and she had the newcomers to thank for. Although it was indeed hard to believe them, still if Mira is willing to vouch for them she would thrust them.

One thing that bothered her, was the fact that at least one of the ships was crewed with humans, The other it seems had aliens she never had seen before. Perhaps those were the Vasudans that were mentioned.

"What are the capabilities of those ships?" She ordered, remembering what Mira told her about their power.

"Don't know captain, they must have some sort of internal jamming device that is blocking our sensors."

She raised an eyebrow at the statement, at least they had a device similar to the Minbari stealth. "Alright, so what can you tell me about them?"

"Both ships are 900 meters in length, I'm detecting many weapons emplacements on them, no sign of a rotating section, either they don't care about the lack of gravity or have gravitic drives. Sorry captain, but I can't tell anymore than this."

"Understood."

She proceeded to watch the ships again as they make their way towards the station.

"Captain, we have an urgent communication from the admiral." A lieutenant suddenly shouted

"What is it?"

"The hyperspace sensor pods have been destroyed" The Lieutenant said fear creeping into his voice.

Her face blanched. That could only mean one thing.

"What about the newcomers?" She asked her voice wavering

"We are to protect them at all costs…" She paused for a moment "Jump points forming near the station!"

She stared at the forming jump points. There was no way they can possibly hold out. There was only one thing they could do.

"Prepare for attack!"

* * *

Two dozen jump points filed the screen, their blue color matching the blue of the ships exiting from them. 

The Minbari warships, Sharlins, Tinashis and even two Shargotti, came in their usual manner, at full speed with all guns firing on their targets. The station was the first to fall, several dozens of fusion and neutron beams and it was nothing more than a cloud of particles, the nearby earth ships fared no better.

In the first volley already a dozen of them went down, being shown once again that their armor was no match for the power of Minbari weapons. Starfuries fought ferociously against their Minbari counterparts, unleashing a torrent of plasma fire upon them, but it was to no avail, all shots missed as the Minbari stealth disrupted weapon locks.

Alyt Taren smiled viscously at the carnage brought by his fleet, already the station has fallen and the remaining ships will soon be disposed of, and once that is accomplished, then the task of cleansing this world from the human taint will begin.

"Target all human ships, I want this finished as quickly as possible, let none survive. For Dukhat." He roared

The entire crew joined him in his war cry, sharing his eagerness and battle lust. Their reverie was cut short however.

"Alyt, the Crimson Sword and the Lance of Minbari have been destroyed." A young warrior said his voice full of surprise and shock."

Taren turned to him in disbelief "That is impossible. Your sensors must be damaged."

The young warrior hesitated "It is true, Alyt." He manipulated the controls at his station and the bridge holographic projection zoomed to the area where both ships where supposed to be.

Taren stared as a group of human ships passed through the remains of what were surely Sharlin war cruisers, but it was something else that captured his eye. Two ships of unknown design were among them.

"What are those ships?"

"Unknown, Alyt. Their design don't match anything on database, but those were the ones the destroyed the Two cruisers."

"Then they will feel the wrath of the Minbari as well" Taren stated without hesitation "Order the nearest group to converge on them and destroy both. Also record the designs and send them to the flagship. Once this is over their race will pay for the crimes they committed today."

"As you command." The warrior bowed

Taren resumed looking at both ships. The design was truly unique, the dark one was blocky like humans ships are but, at the same time, as sleek as the Centauri vessels. The other was far more alien, light brown a color with a vaguely organic appearance.

His musings stopped when a group of five Sharlins war cruisers approached them, he sneered as he expected them to open fire and see the offending ships being blown to dust. What he saw, however, was completely the opposite.

Both alien ships opened fire, green and yellow beams stabbed at the approaching ships, turning two of them into their component particles. His eyes widened as the weapons from the Sharlins struck, but didn't do more than superficial damage.

Again they fired and another war cruiser was turned into space dust. Disbelief was on Taren's face, disbelief that a Minbari war ship could fall easily.

Disbelief turned to anger, and then to rage. There were the greatest of all younger races, no one could stand against them.

He turned to his second in command "Notify our reinforcements, tell them to engage the two alien ships, this farce has gone too long. Let the Earthers and their new allies feel the fury of Minbar."

**EAS Athena**

**Bridge**

'_Mira wasn't lying when she said they had the power to stand up to the boneheads.'_

The two GTVA ships flew ahead of her small group, tearing apart any Minbari unlucky enough to be hit by their weapons.

Already three of Minbari cruiser fell, their weapons dealing little damage to the two ships. She didn't truly believe that they were powerful enough to defeat the vaunted Minbari cruisers, but now, after seeing them in action, her doubts vanished.

If they indeed were to help the Earth Alliance, then there is hope. All that is left now is to see if they have the numbers and the will to match the Minbari.

"Captain!" An alarmed voice rang through out the bridge. "Jump points forming all around us!"

Around the EA and GTVA warships a dozen jump points sprang to life opening a conduit from hyperspace and into real space, from them came the feared Sharlin war cruisers, escorted by swarms of Nial heavy fighters, which opened fire with all weapons on their unsuspecting targets.

Starfuries scrambled to avoid the onslaught, most avoided the initial barrage only to find themselves hopelessly matched against a seemingly unlimited number of Minbari fighters. The capital ships weren't so lucky, the two GTVA ships took the brunt of the assault, explosions rocked both starships as countless beams slammed into their armor, the EA ships, despite being secondary targets were hit hard as well.

The Athena was drilled in several places and was knocked instantly out of the battle, its engines and hangar bay completely vaporized. The other ship, EAS Wolf, an Olympus class corvette, surprisingly managed to escape mostly intact, a grazing hit that managed to disable one of its engines was its only damage.

It boldly retuned fire, missiles and plasma flew wildly into the Minbari formation, the nearest war cruiser turned towards the small human ship, it didn't fire at first and let the Olympus corvette came slightly closer, the Olympus fired again, most weapons missed and those that hit were absorbed by the crystalline armor of its foe.

A glow appeared in one of the front emitters of the Minbari cruiser, it increased in size concentrating enough energy to turn the Olympus into a field of debris as soon as it fired.

But it never did. A single bright yellow beam lashed out towards the cruiser, it hit the Sharlin with terrible power, burning through the armor in a split second. When it was finished, the front of the Sharlin was completely gone.

The Wolf's crew wasted no time, it fired every weapon at its disposal into the exposed interior of its former tormentor, now fully visible on the targeting sensors. The plasma discharges buried deep into the ship vaporizing the softer internal components on contact, explosions appeared all through out the cruiser, turning the once mighty ship into something only worthy of being in a scrap yard.

The GVCv Meruseth, the savior of the small EA corvette turned it sights towards the remaining Minbari ships, pulse weapons and beams lashing out at the Angelfish shaped ships, another went down and two more were damaged, the returning fire wasn't as impressive but still damaging, gashes started to appear along the brown hull of the Vasudan corvette, armor still holding.

Fighters made strafing runs on each GTVA ship, their weapons barely scorching their targets hull, but forcing them to split their firepower.

* * *

The GTCv Justice poured a second volley onto the largest Minbari ship in their group, the huge cruiser collapsed under the energy being thrown at it, it exploded in a huge show of light, but another war cruiser took its place, continuously firing at the Terran corvette. 

The bridge shook again as another volley hit home. Warning lights flashed through several consoles, warning their controllers of the increasing damage being dealt.

Captain Hecker grinded his teeth, this wasn't looking good. The Minbari caught them by surprise and possessed enough numbers to overpower them.

A group of five Minbari fighters flew in from of the view screen firing their weapons all the way. Flak exploded inside the formation shattering two of them and sending the rest into evasive maneuvers, briefly breaking their attack.

The bridge shook again, more violent than before. "We have a hull breach on deck 7!" A lieutenant shouted "Pulse turret six as been disabled!"

"Evacuate affected areas and seal it!"

Focusing on the view screen, he watched as a Sharlin exploded and another took his place. There seemed to be no end to them. He continued watching the Minbari cruisers on the view screen occasionally sparing a glance at the holo projector more specifically, at a small countdown timer, if this keeps up they will be destroyed, already hull armor was failing across several decks. It won't be long before something critical was hit.

"Helm, set course to the following coordinates!" He ordered as he typed something on his command chair.

The ensign at the helm saw the coordinates and her eyes widened "Sir, that will take us through the enemy fleet! We will be destroyed!"

Hecker smiled a predatory smile "Don't worry, they can't concentrate their fire if we're in the middle of it. Now do it, we have little time!"

The Deimos accelerated towards the Minbari fleet, who responded by increasing the intensity of their attack, emerald beams struck the front of the Terran ship, the armor, design to withstand Shivan weapons was extremely resistant to Minbari weapons, it repelled the attacks inflicted on it, but, as with everything, it had its limit.

And that limit was approaching quickly.

Explosions blossomed all across the fore armor as it melted away and exposed internal components. Minbari pilots took it as a sign that their prey was weakening and pressed the assault.

It was in vain as the Justice plowed right through the Minbari formation, passing in the middle of two war cruisers, it unleashed a devastating broadside heavily damaging both ships. It worked its way through the fleet of war cruisers, firing at regular intervals and sending the Minbari into disarray, return fire was limited to the Minbari cruisers secondary weapons, the threat of friendly fire preventing the use of heavier weapons as every ship tried to target the speeding corvette who was already exiting the swarm of Minbari ships.

This brief respite was all that the Terran corvette needed, it accelerated further putting distance between itself and its attackers. Ahead of it was its objective, the Meruseth.

Sporting numerous gashes, craters and hull breaches, the Vasudan corvette still held its own against, but fire was faltering as the sheer weight of numbers was overcoming the technological superiority of the GTVA war ship.

A volley of pulse discharges buried themselves deep into a Tinashi frigate, only to be return ten fold. Armor broke away as the fusion beams finally overcame its threshold, explosions rocked the Sobek corvette, and an engine flickered and died as it lost power.

Surprisingly a single EA ship was nearby, being ignored by the Minbari cruisers it stayed behind the Meruseth, safe from the heavier weapons of the Sharlins, it was still in the fight however. Its turrets where picking off Nial fighters with surprising and unexpected accuracy, a shock to any Minbari pilot who couldn't understand how they could be targeted.

It wasn't their sensors but the targeting coordinates supplied by the Vasudan ship the reason for this turn of events, and the EA crew took that advantage to the maximum.

A burst of flame shot away from the hull of the Meruseth as another hull breached, Hecker closed his eyes for a brief moment. They would not retreat, allowing such wanton slaughter was unthinkable, but his first priority was to its people.

He looked at the EA officer. She was staring at the screen with a mixture of hate, sadness and despair. She noticed the sudden attention and turned to face him.

Now he clearly noticed her eyes. She had been crying silently. There had people on the station and ship. People she knew, friends and possibly family, all of them killed by a mistake that could have been avoided. He felt for her, he knew what it's like to lose friends and almost everything one knew.

"Don't worry." He called to her, his voice low but still audible over the cacophony of sound in the busy bridge "I won't let anyone else die here today."

She gave a sad smile "Thank you, I appreciate what you've done for us, but we are losing this battle.

Hecker shook his head, and then smiled as the timer got to zero. "Not today we don't!"

A large subspace portal formed near the Justice, sending the nearest Minbari cruisers into panic as they tried to avoid the huge distortion. Hecker smiled as a large shape exited the rift.

"This is GTD Aquitaine, to all Minbari warships. Surrender now or be destroyed."

Alyt Taren stared at the huge ship, which dwarfed even a Shargotti heavy war cruiser. Dozens upon dozens of fighters swarmed out from its hanger putting themselves in formation around it, ready to spring into actions at a single word.

Another portal appeared, and another ship of a radically different design but equally as large as the first appeared. It positioned itself along side the one named Aquitane

"This is the GVD Rehemet. Our intentions were clear you have one standard minute to respond."

Tarens face went blank. _'If they are anything in power like the two smaller ones then this battle cannot be won.' _ He frowned and mentally shook that thought out of his mind as his pride and stubbornness taking over. _'Never. They will fall like all the others.'_

"Prepare to engage the Alien ships, leave the Earthers for last." He commanded "Kill them all!"

* * *

"It seems they want to do this the hard way." Admiral Petrarch sighed as he saw the entirety of the Minbari fleet turning towards them. The old veteran mentioned to his second in command. 

"As soon as they fire release the fighters."

More GTVA ships were entering the area, corvettes and cruisers, both Terran and Vasudan, arrayed themselves around the two destroyers, ready to defend them from any attack.

The nearest Minbari ship opened fire, the impact of the weapon barely scorching the Aquitaine. The destroyer replied in kind, the result however was vastly different. The Photon beam pierced the war cruiser as if it was made of paper instantly vaporizing it.

The GTVA task force sprung into action, fighters and bombers of all descriptions pushed forward, and clashed blue Nial fighters.

The Minbari pilots, so used to face the weaker Earth Starfuries, were taken by surprise at the shear power and toughness of their new enemy, energy barriers flared up, blocking the neutron cannons from damaging the Terran and Vasudan fighters while the crystalline armor was all but useless against the GTVA weapons.

A group in particular was, despite being surrounded by all sides, already achieving an impressive number of kills. The eight Terran fighters, dove and weaved through the mass of the Nials, killing them with impunity, seemly erratic maneuvers preventing the Minbari pilots from massing enough energy to overcome the shields, frustrating them to no end, while a few learned to respect not only the remarkable ships, but its pilots as well.

"These guys are too easy!" Alpha 3 commented as another blue fighter fell to his primary guns "That makes six!"

"Keep the chatter to a minimum, Alpha 3!" The serious tone of Beta 1 was heard "This isn't a contest."

"Oh, and I have nine." Beta 1 added with a smirk

Alpha 3 grumbled something no one could hear.

"Alpha 3 and Beta 1, we aren't here to count our kills." A commanding voice addressed both pilots. "Now, how are your ships holding up?"

"All systems are nominal, Alpha 1!" Beta 1 responded as he dived through two Minbari fighters. "This model completely overshadows the MKII." He pulled the joystick forward, sending the fighter into a controlled spin, pursuing a group of five Minbari. A series of blinking triangles appeared in the fighters HUD locking themselves on each of the five targets.

A press of the button and a volley of missiles shot forth from the gray colored fighter, each pursuing their target.

"The new Cyclone multi target missiles are also working without a problem." The Terran pilot stated while the five Minbari fighters exploded, lighting the cockpit in a bright red color.

"Understood." Alpha 1 responded, while avoiding another volley from two persistent Minbari pilots. Pushing his fighter further he angled towards another Nial. Not willing to let its prey escape, the two Minbari pilots followed, accelerating to the maximum speed, they quickly closed the distance, targeting computer locking on. The Terran noticed their weapons lock and waited. As soon as the lock was achieved he rolled his fighter to the side and activated his afterburners. The Neutron beams passed through where he previously stood, and right into the Nial he was chasing.

The green beams burned the blue armor killing the pilot and sending the wrecked ship into a spin.

The two Minbari were stunned. They had just killed another of their kind. Shame washed over their mind, but they never would have time to think about it as bright white pulses of energy, turned their fighters into dust.

Alpha 1 leveled his fighter, searching for another target in the mass of ships surrounding him. He quickly chose a new target, a group of four Minbari fighters that were chasing a Myrmidon. The terran fighter was trailing fire, a sign of heavy damage.

He pointed his fighter towards it and accelerated, but it would be too late. Thin green beams struck the already damaged armor, burning through it and damaging the interior.

The pilot, aware that is fighter was doomed, ejected as part of the cockpit separated itself from the Myrmidon seconds before exploded.

The Minbari weren't finished however and targeted the small escape pod. Alpha 1, realizing what they were about to do, put all the ships power on it engines, draining the shields in the process. He couldn't allow them to do it.

The targeting computer locked and he fired, six banks of the new UD-10 Kayser gun struck, blasting two of the Minbari fighters into atoms. The remainder scattered temporally leaving the stranded pilot alone.

Restoring the ships power distribution to normal he signaled the Aquitaine. "Aquitaine, the Minbari are targeting ejected pilots!"

"Understood. Deploying Rescue ships now?"

Satisfied, he resumed is mission. The battle was going well, already half of the enemy fleet was destroyed and the rest will follow shortly, if they don't escape or surrender first. Given what he read about the Minbari the former was more likely. He looked at the scanner and frowned.

"One of the smaller warships is coming our way. Alpha and Beta wings, lets take it out." He ordered "And remember, the large fin is its weak spot, damage it, and the ship will have a temporary power failure."

A chorus of yes sir's was heard in reply, and made their way towards the approaching Tinashi.

The Minbari frigate fired, its anti fighter beams struck their targets but didn't have the power to pierce them quickly, but it was a considerable threat.

Alpha and Beta dived at the warship, targeting the Gravitic fin. The crew desperately tried to defend itself but the shields held the anti fighter weapons at bay long enough for the fighter to retreat and recharge.

Explosions glowed brightly as the pilots of the Alpha and Beta wing fired another of their new weapons at the engine. Antimatter rockets struck the thin armor, vaporizing it in a blinding flash of light. As the frigate lost power and slowed down, a group of Vasudan bomber targeted the weakened ship and launched a volley of torpedos.

The frigates defensive weapons, due to the loss of power only managed to destroy two of the quickly approaching bombs. The rest hit.

A shockwave overcame the surrounding area, the GTVA ships were able to survive, shields absorbing the energy, the nearby Minbari fighters however weren't as lucky and crumbled as the wave of energy overcame them.

"Scratch one more space fish!" Alpha 4 shouted happily

"Don't you mean space ship?" Alpha 2 remarked

"Well it does look like a fish!"

"Yeah, whatever you say."

"You two, be quiet, this battle isn't over yet!" Alpha 1 ordered

"Yes sir. Although with us here, was there ever any doubt in the outcome?" Beta 4 smirked

"Damn right. The Minbari have no chance against the 70th blue lions." Beta 1 proudly announced

"It helps that we have these new fighters as well."

"Yes." Beta 1 nodded "These Hercules MKIII completely outclasses the previous model. RNI really outdid themselves this time."

"Beta wing, the Broadsword needs assistance, go give it!" Alpha 1 interrupted

"Understood, alpha leader."

"Alpha wing, there is another frigate that needs our tender ministrations!" Alpha 1 smiled

"Yes sir, right behind you. Let's give them hell!"

* * *

Several jump points formed in the middle of the Minbari fleet, a few entered them, leaving the battle behind, and the rest pressed on hopelessly fling themselves at the guns of the Terran-Vasudan fleet. 

None of this mattered to Captain Matthew Hecker, the fleet could win without his ship and he had another thing to worry about.

"It has extensive damage to the superstructure. The engines are simply gone, and unless massive repairs can be done it won't be space worthy again." The marine stated

"What about the wounded?" Hecker asked

"We've found about a few dozen, many in a critical condition. We have transferred most of them to the med bay, the rest are still being rescued."

"And the captain?" He asked

"Already in the Med Bay. As far as I know she only had a mild concussion."

"The survivors are the main priority, the ship can wait."

"Understood." The marine saluted and ended the transmission.

He turned back to look at the projector, the reinforcements arrived just in time and now the Minbari fleet was surrounded and being annihilated. Had they took five minutes longer he and his crew would have been floating in space.

One positive note was the survival of the EA ship named Wolf which surprised him given how inferior it was to Minbari cruisers. Nevertheless they proved to be useful by protecting the Meruseth from fighters.

In the end though, the damage to the Justice had been extensive but repairable, it would take at least a week of repairs, and the Meruseth is even worse, with the EA ship Athena ending almost completely destroyed.

Fortunately the Athena wasn't totally destroyed, and with the arrival of the reinforcements they manage to tractor it to a safe area and begin evacuating it.

The captain of the EA ship managed to survive and was already on the med bay, being treated for a concussion. Mira was delighted at hearing her friend's survival, although still saddened by all the deaths today.

"You can go see your friend if you wish."

She shook her head "Thank you. But I prefer to see this to the end. It isn't every day that one sees the Minbari getting their asses kicked."

"Okay. Now, about that alliance." He stated as the last Minbari ship was destroyed.

**Tau Sigma  
GTVA Held Star System****  
Galactic Vasudan Destroyer Salvation**

"Exiting Subspace now."

The blue swirling vista of subspace parted and the mighty Hatshepsut destroyer entered real space, in front of it lay Tau IX, a desolate and barely habitable planet on the outskirts of the System. Orbiting it was the Menes, a Cairo class station, connected to the station was a shipyard with a large ship sitting in its berth, larger he had seen before, short of the ill fated Colossus and the Shivan juggernaughts. Numerous other vessels littered the immediate area, several were warships in patrol but most were transports carrying materials for to the station.

"Admiral. We are receiving a communication from the Menes." A young Vasudan lieutenant reported. "They asked for you to meet them on the Hangar of the Menes. Maant will meet you there."

Admiral Ahmose looked at the lieutenant "Good. Prepare a shuttle and an escort wing, I will be on my way to the hangar."

"Yes, Admiral."

The voyage to the Menes was uneventful and minutes later, Ahmose was in the hangar of the station, it wasn't the first time he was in a Cairo station but the shear size of it never ceased to amaze him, it was larger than most Terran stations, and much more esthetically pleasing, fighters and bombers were lined across the hangar while technicians swarm around them, preparing them for flight.

Across from him a small group of Vasudans was approaching. They chatted happily amongst them, but became silent once they were near the Admiral. They stopped a few meters from him.

The group leader approached him. "Admiral Ahmose. It is an honor to have you here. I'm the Project leader Maant."

Ahmose returned his sign of respect "Thank you, but I have little time for pleasantries."

"Of course, Admiral." He motioned for him to follow "If you would follow me we can start this without further delay."

Ahmose followed him through several hallways and lifts eventually reaching a large room. It could easily contain two dozen people, but at the moment it was just him, Maant and his aide. Sitting down on one of the chairs he waited for his host to begin.

Maant pressed several buttons on the panel on his side of the table. A hologram spring from a small projector in the middle of the room, it showed a detailed schematic of the large ship he saw berthed on the shipyard outside.

"This" Maant began "is the Tanen, the newest ship in the Vasudan navy. With five kilometers in length it is, bar the Colossus and the Shivan juggernaughts, the biggest ship ever built."

Ahmose looked at the immense ship, portions of the ship where highlighted at intervals, detailing that section.

"It carries four hundred fighters and bombers along with other support craft, it also possesses facilities to act as a command ship for an entire battlegroup."

"Impressive." Ahmose admitted, not even the Colossus had that fighter complement "What kind of weaponry does it carry?"

"The 18 standard class 3 Photon and slicer beam cannons, 40 heavy pulse turrets and 26 torpedo batteries for offensive weapons." The hologram highlighted the locations of these weapons. Ahmose noted with satisfaction that it had no blind spot he could find, although the aft of the ship had little heavy weapons.

"The inclusion of a new reactor design by Akethon, which provided enough energy to keep all systems running with power to spare, this is what allowed us to include two of the new class of Photon beam cannons developed by GTVI labs."

"What are their capabilities?" Ahmose asked.

"They are modified Class 5 Photon cannons, however unlike the ones that were installed on the colossus we've managed to resolve the overheat problem and increase their destructive potential significantly without increasing its size."

"How much power are we talking here?" He queried while staring at the two prongs on the front of the ship where the weapons were located.

"A standard discharge has 30 more power, overloading it can get it to over 70 but at the risk of damaging the weapon, regardless, it takes longer to fire than a standard class 3, and energy consumption is high."

The Vasudan Admiral nodded satisfied at the new information "And Defenses?"

"Defensive weapons include the standard Anti Fighter beams, flak guns and defensive pulse guns," Their locations were highlighted on the hologram as he spoke "Along with several defensive missile batteries located on strategic points throughout the carrier."

"The armor is the same as the one used on the Terran Deimos class but, enhanced with a new material based loosely on recovered Shivan wreckage, significantly increasing its durability."

"All this combined allows the Tanen to repel almost any attack, be it capital ship or fighter and bomber assault. The carrier is somewhat slow and maneuverability is low as well but nothing can stand against all the power it is carrying." Maant said proudly

Ahmose nodded and got up from the chair "You and your team have done well and are to be commended, I will make sure that command will know of our achievements here."

Maant bowed deeply "Thank you, Admiral."

"How long until the ship is read for field testing?"

"At any time you wish so, Admiral. We where simply waiting for your arrival."

"Very well. Notify the Tanen's crew I'll be coming onboard, and to set course to Rigel." He stated

"At once!" Maant bowed before moving to fulfill his order.

30 minutes later the massive 5 kilometers long ship was in subspace, accompanied by the Salvation. The Carrier made its way towards the system that connected the GTVA to Minbari space.

* * *

**Authors Notes** My thanks to the Inferno Team and Hamano for letting me use their models 


End file.
